A New World, A New Adventure
by DragonofAsgard
Summary: Aether was a simple Dovahkiin, traveled Skyrim, slayed dragons, and mostly cleared out every crevice and cave that covered the land. She had seen many things, but portals that appeared after raging blizzards was new. So she finds herself on a new quest on Middle-Earth to slay yet another Dovah. With help from dwarves.
1. Chapter I

**Author's Note Part I**: This is the first story that I have written for Fanfiction. I will do my best to update in a timely manner, but I do live on a farm and have things to do during the day, so I will most likely update if it's raining or the weekend. If I have any writing mistakes, I will be grateful if people point them out for me to fix, for I do not have a beta, and it might stay that way for a while.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything you should read, only my level 57 Dovahkiin, Aether. If I did, I would be rich and have better things to do with my time then writing fanfiction, like continuing my obsession of drawing dragons.

**A blizzard raged through the mountainous** lands, sending all sensible folk running to shelter. The only ones still out in the storm was a black horse and his lonely rider, as they trotted along the now invisible cobblestone trail, heads down to block the freezing snow and howling winds. The horse plowed into Winterhold only a few hours after the blizzard had reached it, with snowdrifts already burying the skeleton remains of houses.

Only stupid people were dumb enough brave the winds that the townsfolk deemed strong enough to even push a dragon off course, even with their rumored abilities over the weather, Dagur thought, as he paused in his wiping of the bar and watched the door to his inn, The Frozen Hearth get thrown open.

A flurry of snow and freezing wind followed the newcomer in, who wore a snow clumped fur cloak slung over armored shoulders. He tensed for a minute, for the form of the figure was not familiar, until the cloak was thrown off and he, along with all of the other folk sitting by the fire gossiping about the storm outside or eating the tables, recognized the stained bone armor and the helm with its sweeping ebony dragon horns. He set down his rag and hustled 'round the bar over to the figure.

"Aether! Haven't seen you around these parts in a while, and wasn't expecting you either, with that raging blizzard going on outside!" He exclaimed.

Aether smiled softly, pulling her helm off her head and resting it on the snow covered cloak.

"I wasn't expecting to come here either. The blizzard hit while I was up at the Shrine of Azura, and Winterhold was the closest town to hole up in," she replied. "Do you happen to have anything warm to eat?"

Dagur nodded eagerly. "We have some beef stew brewing over the fire," he said, pushing the blonde- haired Nord over to an empty seat by the fire. "You sit here while I get you a bowl."

Aether sat down with an amused expression. Eirid and Assur were instantly at her side, asking her to tell them about her adventures. Aether ruffled Eirid's hair.

"How bought I tell you the story of when I brought down an Elder Dragon outside Whiterun with the help of my dragon Odahviing?"

She got furiously nodding heads and wide eyes in reply.

"Tell us! Tell us!" Assur cried.

Aether grinned mischievously.

"As soon as I finish my dinner, then I'll tell you." She took the offered bowl from Dagur.

The children groaned, but obediently sat down beside her, and proceeded to watch her eat the warm beef stew. The second the bowl became empty and set down in front of the fire, the entire inn became quiet, for she was well known throughout Skyrim for her stories of her many adventures.

"It was a warm day that day. I was simply riding along with Serana behind me, minding my own business, when I heard the roar of a dragon, and the beast's huge shadow swept overhead, completely hiding the sun of a moment," she told the children. "It had been an Elder Dragon, with huge golden scales. He breathed fire, I remember, and often set large swathes of grass alight. He had attacked instantly, and almost set Shadowmere and me on fire before the battle even began."

Aether grinned as she thought back to that great battle, when she and Odahviing had chased him all over the plains, leaving Serana and Shadowmere to fight off the Giants that they had startled half-way through the fight. The dragon had led them through a bandit camp, which caused a delay while she killed the bandits and Odahviing continued to fight the Elder. They had finally brought him outside the wall behind Dragonsreach, and in the middle of slaying him, got pushed into a skirmish between a Vampire Nightstalker and three Vigilants of Stendarr. She had beheaded the vampire, for she had a mutual hatred for their kind, and then finished off the weak dragon behind her.

"And I killed that Elder with my blade buried in his eye! He had me chase him for the better part of a day, running through Giant and bandit camps. He also set me back a day on my quest to find some guy a book that was buried deep in a cave guarded by bandits that couldn't even read."

She told stories of her travels for the rest of the night, while the storm raged outside in a grand fury. Dawn's light was rising through the windows when she finished her tales, and he entire room clapped, and the snow had finally stopped outside.

"Well, I must be off now. Jarl Ulfric is most likely waiting for me back in Windhelm." She thanked Dagur for the stew, and handed him a coin purse, but he waved it off.

"Keep your money friend. Consider the story as payment for the stew instead."

Aether laughed, but pushed the purse into his hands.

"I have more gold then I will even need. Keep it, there are most likely things you want done around here that you can't afford."

Dagur blinked, staring down at the large bag.

"Thank you, Aether, both for the story and the gold."

Aether nodded as she pulled on her helm, the scuffed ebony horns gleaming faintly in the firelight. The now dry cloak of wolf fur was slung over her shoulders, and she gave Assur and Eirid each a coin as she pulled open the door and ventured out into the road, with snowdrifts so high they reached the roofs of the buildings. She pulled herself onto Shadowmere, and gave the stallion's neck a pat.

"Come on boy, off we go to Windhelm."

* * *

Halfway down the mountain, the path became blocked by an avalanche, which completely obliterated the path ahead, and too deep for Shadowmere to try and cross. Aether slid out of the saddle and grabbed his reins.

"Well, now we have to go down and around."

She turned off the path, Shadowmere following behind, and set off down the slope. It was a silent trek, and in Aether's opinion, a rather boring one. But luckily for her, or unfortunately, her trip didn't stay boring for long.

Down at sea level, the snow was thin enough that Shadowmere could safely cross. Night had fallen, and Aether decided to wait till daybreak to continue back up the mountain slope. She stripped Shadowmere of his saddle, and slung a large bear skin over his sweaty back. She unrolled her bed roll, and unbuckled her sword belt and placed it alongside her dragonbone bow and quiver of arrows. Just as she lay down, she noticed a flickering light on a tiny outlaying island. Aether sighed, sat up, and returned her weapons to their proper places.

She woke Shadow, quickly saddled him up, and led him across the ice sheets towards the suspicious island. Shadowmere snorted softly to the feel of firm ground under his hooves, while Aether was busy staring at the strange portal that hovered in the air in front of her. It was utterly different than any other portal she had seen, for it was a large purple oval, with a black center. Aether drew _Ahkrin_, and poked the portal with the blades tip.

As the blade touched the strange portal, all the fire runes running along the blade activated, causing _Ahkrin_ to look like it had burst into flames. Shadowmere gave a startled snort, and Aether blinked. She waited till the runes faded down to pale orange lines flaring across the jagged blade, then sheathed it. She glanced back at Shadow, then at the portal. Then with a shrug, she stepped up the portal, Shadowmere's reins firmly gripped. Then with a final gust of misty breath, she and the stallion walked into the portal, and disappeared off the land of Tamriel.

* * *

High above sea level, at the peak of Monahven, or as the Nords called it, The Throat of the World, an old white scaled dragon turned from watching Odahviing fly in endless circles around the peak, and looked up to the sky.

_"Lok, Thu'um, Dovahkiin._ May you find great adventures in your new realm."

He gave a bugling roar, and launched into the sky to join Odahviing in his endless flight.

**Author's Note Part II:** As I said before, any helpful tips to help improve my writing (nobody's perfect) and any grammar mistakes I might have missed, would be greatly appreciated. I play Skyrim, and have read the Hobbit, and watched both An Unexpected Journey and the Desolation of Smaug several times. I want to stick as close to Hobbit canon as possible (obliviously I can't do all canon, then it wouldn't be a crossover). In later chapters, if anyone noticed something that I missed, please tell me. And as I currently have no idea were my Hobbit book went, it will probably seem closer to the movies then the book, unless I pull it out of my memory or off the internet. I would love constructive reviews, and flames will be ignored. If you want to be rude, keep it to yourself please. Thank You. (Oh! And I edited this, so a few words might have changed. Hopefully I found all the mistakes, but I tend to miss stuff when I have to fix them.)


	2. Chapter II

**Author's Note Part I:** Well, here is the next chapter! Hopefully it lives up to expectations. As always, if I missed anything, please inform me.

**Disclaimer:** As usual, I don't own Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, or the Hobbit. Wish I did, but I'm not Bethesda or Tolkien.

**The first thing Aether noticed when** she woke up was the fact that the hilt of Ahkrin was digging into her side. She sat up and adjusted her belt, and then the next thing she noticed was the man sitting on a log in front of her making huge smoke rings. She blinked in shock for a minute; for she had never seen smoke rings get that big. Then she remembered that she was in a strange place, which looked similar to the forests of The Rift and Falkreath Hold. Aether lunged to her feet, drawing Ahkrin as she went up. The man looked up at the sound of the blade being drawn, and did something utterly unexpected.

"So you're awake my dear," he said.

Aether noted that he almost completely ignored the fact that he had a sword pointed at him.

"Who are you, and where are we?" she asked, looking around.

"I am Gandalf the Gray," he said, standing up. "And we are near the end of the Shire."

"Where is the Shire? It isn't in Skyrim as far as I know."

"No my dear, the Shire is far from Skyrim, very far."

Aether scowled at the man, _Gandalf the Gray,_ she thought, _well he made sure to live up to his name._

The man wore long gray robes, and even his beard was gray. She sighed.

"If we're not in Skyrim, then where in Tamriel are we!"

Gandalf's eyes twinkled. "My dear, we are in Middle-Earth. Quite far, I would imagine, from your home of Tamriel."

Aether blinked. "You're saying that the portal thingy that I went though jumped me to a different world?"

Gandalf nodded. "And you are just on time; I was worried that my portal had missed you."

_Whoa, whoa_, Aether thought. _This mage, for he had to be a mage, no normal folk went around making portals to different worlds, not in Skyrim at least. He made a portal just to get me? Seems like a waste of time._

"So you made a portal to my world, just to get me here, for what now?"

"An adventure, my dear, and one that involves dragons," Gandalf said.

_Dragons. He made a portal for me to what, slay the thing? _Aether thought_. Because I sure don't do diplomatic solutions with dragons, well, I kinda do but not the point. _She immediately stopped her train of thought when she became aware of the fact that she was arguing with herself in her head.

"Just let me clear this up, you made a portal, to another realm, just to get me to go on an adventure with you to kill a dragon, when I could easily do the same thing at home? And no doubt you can't find yourself a dragon slayer within your own world?"

Gandalf laughed. "There will be more in this company that just you and I my friend, and more to the job then just slaying a dragon," he said. "Any there are little dragons in Middle-Earth now, so I do not know any dragon slayers but you, Dragonborn.

Aether groaned to herself. This man, mage, whatever he was, was simply hopeless. And she was pretty sure that he wouldn't be sending her back home anytime soon, since he somehow knew who she was. Also, she really had no choice to follow him, unless she wanted to take off with Shadowmere and just herself lost in this new realm, Middle-Earth as Gandalf called it.

"Fine. I will go with you on your quest, with your friends, and slay the dovah at the end of it. And what could be more important to a quest than ridding the land of one of the dov?"

"The dragon plays an important part in this story, my friend, but not the most important part. But I will let the leader of the company tell you, if you decide to come."

With that, he turned and mounted a horse that had been grazing nearby, waving for Aether to follow. She grabbed Shadowmere, and then trotted up next to him.

"I do not believe that I have told you my name yet, Gandalf the Gray," she said. "I am Aether Stormblade, Dovahkiin."

Gandalf nodded. "Well then, Miss Stormblade, well met."

* * *

They rode along the dusty path for the rest of the night, and came upon what seemed as a small village that morning. Gandalf dismounted, and motioned for Aether to do the same. She swung down from Shadowmere, and waited while Gandalf roped his horse's reins around a nearby sapling.

"Well, off we go."

_Strange place,_ she thought, staring at the strange looking town, covered with gardens, with the houses seeming to be built underneath the hills.

"What type of town is this, Gandalf? I have never seen thing like it in Skyrim, except for maybe the old dragon burial sites with rooms built under them."

"This is a hobbit town, Aether, and I doubt you will see houses like this anywhere else."

"And who are we going to meet?"

"You shall see, my dear."

* * *

Bilbo Baggins was standing at his door after breakfast smoking an enormous long wooden pipe that reached nearly down to his woolly toes (neatly brushed) when Gandalf came by, followed by a tall woman dressed in layered white armor. She had shoulder length blonde that was messily braided away from her face, and dark blue-gray war paint was swept over her eyes, and trailed down her cheeks. A huge white bow, similar in color to her armor, was slung over her shoulder. Gandalf had not been down that way under The Hill for ages and ages, not since his friend the Old Took died, in fact, and the hobbits had almost forgotten what he looked like. And the hobbits had certainly never seen a maiden armed to the teeth with weapons ever before.

All that the unsuspecting Bilbo saw that morning was an old man with a staff and his unknown lady friend, even though she didn't look much like a lady. He had a tall pointed blue hat, a long grey cloak, a silver scarf over which a gray beard hung down below his waist, and immense black boots.

"Good morning!" said Bilbo, and he meant it. The sun was shining, and the grass was very green. But Gandalf looked at him from under long bushy eyebrows that stuck out further than the brim of his shady hat.

"What do you mean?" he said. "Do you wish me a good morning or do you mean that it is a good morning whether I want it or not? Or perhaps you mean to say that you feel good on this particular morning? Or are you simply stating that this is a morning to be good on?

"All of them at once, I suppose" said Bilbo, after a moment. Gandalf looked slightly disapproving down at Bilbo; Aether snickered at his expression of confusion.

"Can I help you?" Bilbo asked, looking up at Gandalf, who seemed to be the talker of the two.

"That remains to be seen. I am looking for someone to share in an adventure that I am arranging, and it's very difficult to find anyone."

"I should think so - in these parts! We are plain quiet folk and have no use for adventures. Nasty disturbing uncomfortable things! Make you late for dinner! I can't think what anybody sees in them" Bilbo got up and checked his mailbox, grabbing his mail and chuckling to himself. He looked quite uncomfortable to seen Gandalf and Aether still standing there, watching him. He had decided that they was not quite his sort, and wanted them to go away. But the old man did not move. He stood leaning on his stick and gazing at the hobbit without saying anything, and his armored friend simply stood beside him, her pale blue eyes watching his every move, till Bilbo got quite uncomfortable and even a little cross.

"Good morning!" he said at last. "We don't want any adventures here, thank you! You might try over The Hill or across The Water." By this he meant that the conversation was at an end.

"To think that I should have lived to be good-morninged by Belladonna Took's son, as if I was selling buttons by the door," Gandalf said, while Aether's eyes gleamed in amusement.

"Beg your pardon?" Bilbo asked, confused once more.

"You have changed, Bilbo, and not entirely for the better."

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" Bilbo asked curiously. "I'm quite sure that your friend is new, but you seem slightly familiar."

"Yes, yes, my dear sir - and I do know your name, Mr. Bilbo Baggins. And you do know my name, though you don't remember that I belong to it. I am Gandalf, and Gandalf means me!"

Bilbo frowned, trying to remember the name. "Gandalf, Gandalf! Good gracious me! Not the wandering wizard that gave Old Took a pair of magic diamond studs that fastened themselves and never came undone till ordered? Not the fellow who used to tell such wonderful tales at parties, about dragons and goblins and giants and the rescue of princesses and the unexpected luck of widows' sons? Not the man that used to make such particularly excellent fireworks! I remember those! Old Took used to have them on Midsummer's Eve. Splendid! They used to go up like great lilies and snapdragons and laburnums of fire and hang in the twilight all evening!"

"Where else should I be?" said Gandalf, glancing behind him to the woman. "All the same I am pleased to find you remember something about me. You seem to remember my fireworks kindly, at any rate, land that is not without hope. Well that's decided. It will be very good for you, and most amusing for me. I shall inform the others." He paused. "And I'm sure my friend here would happily stay here."

Bilbo nodded. "Yes, yes, your friend may stay. Come in Ms…..?"

"Aether. My name is Aether."

"Well then, Ms. Aether, I'm sure I have something you would like somewhere."

He gestured for Aether to come inside, and completely forgot about what Gandalf had said about informing others.

**Author's Note Part II:** Much of the dialogue between Gandalf and Bilbo is canon. If it wasn't noticed. Reviews would be greatly appreciated. See you next chapter!

_**DragonofAsgard**_


	3. Chapter III

**Author's Note Part I: **_Well here we are, chapter 3. This one is longer, sure took me longer to write it out, even with dialogue help. Depending on how much time I put into my one-shot collection, with is about Aether in Skyrim, and how many chores I have, chapter 4 should be out this week. So, here we are!_

_**Disclaimer:**__ I don't own Skyrim or the Hobbit, and I never will. Too much paperwork. Only thing that is mine is Aether, the slightly insane dovahkiin. Nothing else. _

**It was dark, and Bilbo found out** that Aether was a great story teller, and she happily told him about her adventures in a place she called _Keizaal_. He was frying up a fish for himself, while Aether snacked on a steak that Bilbo thought was too bloody for him. He had just sat down to eat, when his doorbell rang.

Aether looked up from her steak, and glanced over at Bilbo.

"Expecting anyone?" She asked.

"Not that I know of, no," Bilbo replied, getting up to answer the door.

Aether watched him leave the room, then got up and followed him to the door.

A short man, at least; short in her standards, tall for Bilbo maybe, stood at the door. As soon as the door was opened, he pushed inside, just as if he had been expected. He hung his hooded cloak on the nearest peg, and "Dwalin at your service!" he said with a low bow.

"Bilbo Baggins at yours!" said the hobbit, too surprised to ask any questions for the moment.

"D-do we knew each other?" Bilbo asked.

Dwalin dropped half of his stuff on the floor, into Aether's own pile of weapons. He then attempted to stuff the rest of it in Bilbo's arms, but Aether smoothly snagged them away, were she placed them nicely along the wall with the rest.

"No," Dwalin said, eying Aether. "Which way, lassie? Is it down here?" He asked her.

Aether raised an eyebrow at him. "Supper. He said there would be food, and lots of it."

"Of course! Right this way." Aether turned and led Dwalin to the dining room, filling up her plate again and handing it to him.

"Good food. Is there any more?" He asked, after he had cleaned off Aether's plate.

Bilbo panicked. "What!"

Aether nodded, and headed to the pantry. "Of course, Master Dwalin," she told him, coming back with more food.

Just then, there was another ring of the doorbell. Bilbo groaned and turned to get the door. Aether grabbed his shoulder.

"I'll get it, you should go eat."

Bilbo nodded, and then returned to the kitchen.

When she opened the door, another man slightly shorter than Dwalin stood before her.

"Balin, at your service," he said with a bow.

Aether smiled. "Good evening. Aether, at yours."

The white-haired man nodded. "Yes, yes it is," he agreed, looking outside. "Though I think it might rain later. Am I late?"

Aether grinned and stepped aside, letting Balin in. "Not at all," she replied, accepting his weapons as he handed them to her. Balin walked in, and saw Dwalin, helping himself to Bilbo's biscuits, while the hobbit hovered behind him.

He laughed, "Good evening, brother!"

Dwalin looked up. "Oh, by my beard, you are shorter and wider than last we met!" he exclaimed.

"Wider, not shorter," Balin corrected him. "Sharp enough for the both of us."

Aether slid up behind Bilbo. "Who are they?" she asked, for they were too short to be men, and were taller than the hobbit that stood before her.

"Who, them? They are dwarves, haven't you seen any before?" Bilbo asked, glancing back at her.

She laughed, "There are no dwarves in Skyrim that is for sure."

Bilbo walked up to the two dwarves, who were muttering to themselves. "Uh, excuse me; sorry, I'd hate to interrupt, ah, but the thing is; I'm not entirely sure you're in the right house."

Dwalin and Balin ignored him, and continued talking to each other while Bilbo rambled on nervously.

"It's not that I don't like visitors; I-I like visitors as much as the next hobbit, but I do like to know them before they come visiting."

As the two brothers continued to ignore Bilbo, Aether came to his rescue. "They are quite fine, Bilbo. Let them catch up."

Just then the doorbell rang once, than once more.

Aether went to open the door, and this time saw not one dwarf, but two.

"Fíli," said the blonde.

"Kíli," the dark-haired one said. Together they bowed, and just as they opened their mouths to say more, Aether interrupted.

"At my service?"

The two paused. Then Fíli turned to grin at Kíli, and then they both looked back up at her, eyes gleaming in amusement.

"Is Mr. Boggins home?"

"Baggins," Aether corrected. "And yes, he is home. Come in!"

Just as they started to step through, Bilbo ran up and tried to slam the door shut.

"Nope, you can't come in; you've come to the wrong house."

He attempted to close the door the entire way, but Kíli's foot and Aether's grip on the door stopped him.

"What? Has it been cancelled?" Kíli asked. "No one told us," Fíli added.

Bilbo looked confused. "Can-? No—nothing's been cancelled."

"Well that's a relief," Kíli said, as he shoved the door open, with Aether helping.

Fíli and Kíli handed their weapons to Aether. "Careful with these," Fíli told her. "I just had 'em sharpened." He grinned up at her.

""Dwalin and Balin here already, I see," said Kíli."Let us join the throng!"

"Throng!" exclaimed Bilbo, after Kíli and Fíli went to speak with the other two dwarves. "I don't like the sound of that. I really must sit down for a minute and collect my wits, and have a drink."

Aether laughed. "There is nothing wrong with merriment, Bilbo! It is a great, if unexpected, gathering!"

"It's very nice this place," Kíli said, as he used the edge of a chest to scrape the mud off his boots. "D'you you do it yourself?"

"Ah, no," Bilbo said. "It's been in the family for years."

He glanced over to see what Kíli was doing. "That's my mother's glory box, can you please not do that!" he exclaimed.

"Fíli, Kíli, come on, give us a hand!" Dwalin called from the other room. Bilbo rushed after the dwarves, yelping over the fact that they were raiding his pantry and moving around all his furniture.

Before too long, the doorbell rang again.

"No! No, no, no!" Bilbo yelped, trying to push his way through the dwarves to prevent Aether from opening the door. She gave the poor hobbit a wolfish grin, and threw the door open. An entire heap of dwarves fell into the open doorway. Aether counted eight, as they scrambled to get upright, grumbling and yelling at each other to "Get off!" Gandalf stood behind them, and he nodded at Aether.

"You are still here, I see. Good."

Aether watched as Bilbo tried to shove the new eight dwarves out of his home. "Oh no. No, no! There's nobody home. Go away and bother somebody else. There are far too many dwarves in my kitchen as it is. If-if-If this is some clot-head's idea of a joke, ha ha, I can only say, it is in very poor taste." He suddenly froze, and looked from Gandalf and Aether.

"You! You knew this was going to happen the entire time!" he yelped, pointing at Aether.

Aether laughed, and turned to help the dwarves to their feet, taking their weapons and adding them to the huge pile by the door.

Line Break

Aether could tell that Bilbo was reaching his wits end. He had been running after the dwarves as they emptied his pantry and rearranged his house. Bombur, the largest dwarf walked by with three blocks of cheese in his arms. Bilbo rushed after him.

"Excuse me. A tad excessive, isn't it? Have you got a cheese knife?"

Another dwarf, who Aether remembered was called Bofur looked up. "Cheese knife?" he asked. "He eats it by the block."

A little later, Gandalf walked out of the dining room, attempting to avoid all the scurrying dwarves. His head hit the chandelier, and after steadying it, he started to count the dwarves on his fingers.

"Fíli, Kíli, Oin, Gloin, Dwalin, Balin, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Dori, Nori….Ori."

Aether looked up from watching Gandalf mutter to another one of the dwemer, Bifur, about them being one dwarf short when a flustered Bilbo sat down beside her.

"Can't you get rid of them all?"He asked her. Aether laughed. "Why? This is the most fun I've had in months!"

She stood up, and followed the dwarves and Gandalf into the dining room, leaving Bilbo to follow her grumpily.

The dwarves, Aether was impressed to see, had made a huge feast out of the food from Bilbo's pantry. They laughed and tossed food about, and Aether watched as Fíli walked along the top of the table, passing out mugs of ale. She caught some food from falling into her lap as the blonde-haired dwarf walked by.

"Who wants ale? There you go," he said, handing Aether one. Dwalin yelled from down the table, "Let him have another drink!", and then poured his down Oin's hearing trumpet, and when Oin spluttered in rage, everyone laughed, Aether laughing with them.

One of the dwarves yelled out "On the count of three!" and all the dwarves pounded their tankards together, Aether joining in with a grin. "One!...Two!" and the room went silent, all the dwarves drinking their ale messily, the drink running down their braided beards. Kíli and Aether were the only ones that actually kept their drink from running out of the cup.

After the meal finished, a great messy meal that Aether was used to, having eaten at Jorrvaskr with the Companions, the dwemer left the table one by one and began to walk around. Bilbo snatched a doily away from Nori.  
"Excuse me, that is a doily, not a dishcloth!" Aether snickered at the dwarf's expression.

"But it's full of holes!"

"It's supposed to look like that, its crochet." Bilbo explained.

"Oh, and what a wonderful game it is too, if you got the balls for it."

Aether laughed. Several of the dwarves stopped to look at her, but she waved them off.

"Bebother and confusticate these dwarves," Bilbo grumbled, glaring at Aether, who was still laughing.

"My dear Bilbo, what on earth is the matter?" Gandalf asked, walking up.

"What's the matter?" Bilbo exclaimed. "I'm surrounded by dwarves and big folk! What are they all doing here?"

"Oh, they're quite a merry gathering, once you get used to them." Gandalf looked up. "Not unlike Aether has over there."

Bilbo glanced over to where the tall woman had sat, and noticed that three of the dwarves, Kíli, Fíli, Ori, had sat down around her, and that she was telling them a tale from the looks of it.

He looked back as Bofur grabbed a link of sausages from off Nori's shoulder. They engaged in a game of tug-of-war in front of Bilbo's shocked eyes.

"I don't want to get used to them!" He exclaimed to Gandalf. "The state of my kitchen! There's mud trod into the carpet, they've pi-pillaged the pantry. I'm not even going to tell you what they've done in the bathroom; they've all but destroyed the plumbing. I don't understand what they're doing in my house!"

Ori walked up, shadowed by Aether. "Excuse me. I'm sorry to interrupt, but what should I do with my plate?"

Fíli yelled behind Aether, "Here you go, Ori, give it to me."

He took the plate from Ori, and threw it to Kíli, who threw it behind his back to Bifur, who is standing at the sink in the kitchen. Bifur caught it behind his back, without even looking at it. With that, Fíli, Kíli, and the other dwarves begin throwing the plates, bowls and utensils to each other, eventually throwing them to the sink to be washed. As the dishware flew through the air, Gandalf and Aether ducked to avoid getting hit.

"Oh!" exclaims Gandalf, while Aether just laughed.

Bilbo ran after the flying dishware, panicking, and yelling about his mother's dishware. Aether glanced into the kitchen, were the Dwemer at the table were drumming on its top with their fists and the utensils. Aether decided that she liked the dwemer here, and thought that her Shield-Brothers would have a great time with them, for both groups acted quite the same.

"You can't do that! You'll blunt them!" Bilbo yelled at the drumming dwarves. Bofur's eyes gained a wicked gleam that went unnoticed by the panicking hobbit, "Ooh, do ya hear that, lads? He says we'll blunt the knives." Kíli, who stood behind Aether, began to sing as he caught dishware from his brother,

_"Chip the glasses and crack the plates!_"Fíli picked up from where his brother ended_, "Blunt the knives and bend the forks!_

That's what Bilbo Baggins hates-

The whole group joined in, and Aether followed suit.

Smash the bottles and burn the corks!

Cut the cloth and tread on the fat!

Pour the milk on the pantry floor!

Leave the bones on the bedroom mat!

Splash the wine on every door!

Dump the crocks in a boiling bawl;

Pound them up with a thumping pole;

And when you've finished, if any are whole,

Send them down the hall to roll!

That's what Bilbo Baggins hates!

So, carefully! Carefully with the plates!"

By the time the song had ended, all the dishware had been washed and stacked nicely on the table, with Bilbo staring at the pile in shock. All the dwarves, Gandalf, and Aether laughed.

Then there came three hard knocks on the door. The room fell silent, and Gandalf looked up.

"He is here."

**Author's Note Part II:** Cliffhanger! Hope everyone liked it, and as I said, next chapter should out this week. I haven't decided if I'll pair Aether up with anyone, but if anyone has any ideas, please, share! Reviews will be loved and cherished. And fed dovah souls to stay strong. See you next chapter!

_**DragonofAsgard**_


	4. Chapter IV

**Author's Note Part I:** So we have arrived at Chapter 4. Anyways, here's the new chapter, and since my laptop is a little slow at the moment, I might have missed a few mistakes. On the other hand, I finally went to watch How to Train Your Dragon 2 the other day. Thought it was awesome. But I doubt you want to read about me rambling on, so I'll end here.

_**Disclaimer:** Yes, yes. I own every little thing on Elder Scrolls and the Hobbit. I am a simple genius. Convincing enough? No, I don't think so. I don't own either one, and sadly, never shall. Simply don't have enough money laying around to do so. Aether might though.  
_

**Aether opened the door; the dwarves all** huddled behind her. Standing before the door was a tall, dark-haired dwarf, dressed in a thick fur cloak. He looked up as the door opened, and stepped inside.

"Gandalf. I thought you said this place would be easy to find. I lost my way, twice. Wouldn't have found it all had it not been for that mark on the door." He told the wizard, handing his cloak to Aether, where it then joined all the other cloaks on the wall.

"Mark?" Bilbo asked, shocked. "There's no mark on the door. It was painted a week ago!"

"There is a mark; I put it there myself." Gandalf informed Bilbo. "Aether Stormblade, Bilbo Baggins, allow me to introduce the leader of our company, Thorin Oakenshield."

Thorin glanced at Aether, and gave Bilbo a cursory glance. "So this is the Hobbit. Tell me, Mr. Baggins, have you done much fighting?"

Bilbo frowned. "Pardon me?" he asked.

Thorin sighed. "Axe or sword? What's your weapon of choice?"

"Well," Bilbo began. "I have some skill at Conkers, if you must know, but I fail to see why that's relevant."

Aether snorted in amusement. Thorin glanced up at her, then back down to Bilbo. "Thought as much. He looks more like a grocer than a burglar."

He looked up at Gandalf. "And why is she here," he asked, pointing at Aether. Gandalf glanced over, and Aether waved. "She has some skills that could be of use in your quest."

Thorin grunted, and headed into the kitchen, everyone following behind.

Thorin sat down at the table, and began to help himself to dinner. As he ate, the other dwarves gathered around, smoking or drinking ale. Aether leaned up against the doorway behind Gandalf, out of the way.

"What news from the meeting in Ered Luin? Did they all come?" Balin asked, glancing at Thorin.

Thorin grunted in acknowledgement. "Aye," he said. "Envoys from all seven kingdoms."

Dwalin glanced up. "What do the dwarves of the Iron Hills say?" he asked. "Is Dain with us?"

Thorin shook his head, "They will not come," he said. "They say this quest is ours, and ours alone."

The other dwarves grumbled in disappointment.

"You're going on a quest?" Bilbo asked, everyone turning to look at him.

Gandalf spoke up, "Bilbo, my dear fellow, let us have a little more light." Bilbo nodded and went to get a candle, setting on the table besides the map that Gandalf had spread out.

Aether leaned over to glance at the map, "Far to the East, over ranges and rivers, beyond woodlands and wastelands, lies a single solitary peak," Gandalf told the group, pointing at a mountain on the map, a red dovah drawn above it.

"The Lonely Mountain," She mused, looking up at Gandalf.

"Aye," Gloin cried. "Oin has read the portents, and the portents say that it is time."

Oin nodded from down the table. "Ravens have been seen flying back to the mountain as it was foretold: When the birds of yore return to Erebor, the reign of the beast shall end."

Bilbo looked concerned at the word of 'beast'. "Uh, what beast?" he asked Oin.

Aether grinned. "A dragon," she said, glancing at Gandalf.

Bofur nodded. 'Smaug the Terrible, chiefest and greatest calamity of our age. Airborne fire-breather, teeth like razors, claws like meathooks, extremely fond of precious metals—"

"Yes, I know what a dragon is," Bilbo interrupted Bofur's speech.

"I'm not afraid," Ori exclaimed, standing up. "I'm up for it! I'll give him a taste of the Dwarfish iron right up his jacksie!"

Several of the dwarves shouted out, and Dori yelled at Ori to sit down.

"The task would be difficult enough with an army behind us." Balin explained. "But we number just thirteen, and not thirteen of the best, or the brightest."

As the dwarves started objecting loudly, Aether growled over them before they got too loud. "Fourteen," she declared, eying the gathered dwarves. Gandalf stood up besides her.

"Aether here is no stranger to dragons," He said. "Dragons are abundant in her homeland."

"Truly?" Balin asked Aether. She nodded, "Truly. I have brought down many in my time."

Just then Fíli exclaimed, "We may be few in number, but we're fighters, all of us, to the last dwarf! And if the Lady Aether truly comes with, how can we possibly fail?"

Kíli nodded, "And you forget, we have a wizard in our company. Gandalf will have killed hundreds of dragons in his time."

Aether smirked at Gandalf as he sputtered at Kíli's words. "Oh, well, now, uh," Gandalf stuttered. "I-I-I wouldn't say that, I—"

"_Hi krii nid dovah, lost hi_," she stated in dragon, amused. Gandalf glared at her grumpily.

"How many, then?" Dori asked loudly.

Gandalf returned his attention to the ongoing conversation, "Uh, what?"

"Well, how many dragons have you killed?" Dori demanded. "Go on, give us a number!"

"Hm," Gandalf still stunned. He coughed embarrassedly on his pipe smoke, and Aether watched as the dwarves jumped to their feet, arguing about the number of dragons Gandalf had killed. Thorin finally jumped up in anger.

"_Shazara!"_ he yelled. "If we have read these signs, do you not think other's will have read them too? Rumors have begun to spread. The dragon Smaug has not been seen in sixty years. Eyes will look to the Mountain, assessing, wondering, weighing the risk. Perhaps the vast wealth of our people now lies unprotected. Do we sit back while others claim what is rightfully ours? Or do we seize this chance to take back Erebor**? **_Du Bekâr! Du Bekâr!" _he cried.

All of the dwarves cheered. Then Balin leaned forward, "You forget: the front gate is sealed." He reminded Thorin. "There is no other way into the mountain."

"That, my dear Balin, is not entirely true." Gandalf twiddled his fingers, and a large ornately wrought key seemed to appear in his hand.

Thorin looked at the key in shock. "How did you come by this?" he asked in a low voice.

Gandalf handed him the key. "It was given to me by your father, by Thrain, for safekeeping." He told the dwarf. "It is yours now."

_Keys open doors_, Aether thought. _There must be another way into the mountain._

Fíli voiced her thoughts, "If there is a key, there must be a door." The dwarf said quickly.

Gandalf used his pipe to point at some runes on the map. "These runes speak of a hidden passage to the lower halls."

"There's another way in!" Kíli exclaimed, his eyes lighting up in excitement.

"Well, if we can find it, but dwarf doors are invisible when closed," Gandalf said. "The answer lies hidden somewhere in this map and I do not have the skill to find it. But there are others on Middle-earth who can. The task I have in mind will require a great deal of stealth, and no small amount of courage. But, if we are careful and clever, I believe that it can be done."

"That's why you want a burglar," Aether said suddenly, walking over to an empty seat next to Kíli and sitting down in it. The dark-haired dwarf glanced at her, and they returned their attention back the conversation.

"Hm, a good one, too. An expert, I'd imagine," Bilbo said with a nod.

Gloin looked up at Bilbo. "And are you?" he asked.

"Am I what?" Bilbo asked, looking at the company, thinking he had missed something.

"Ya hear that! He said he's an expert!" Oin cheered. Several of the dwemer laughed, Aether along with them.

Bilbo looked shocked, once he realized they were talking about him. "M—Me? No, no, no, no, no. I'm not a burglar; I've never stolen a thing in my life."

"I'm afraid I have to agree with Mr. Baggins. He's hardly burglar material." Balin said. Bilbo nodded in agreement.

Dwalin obviously agreed with his brother. "Aye, the wild is no place for gentlefolk who can neither fight nor fend for themselves."

Aether watched with a frown as the dwarves began arguing and Bilbo continued nodding. She glanced up when darkness filled the room as Gandalf rose angrily. The room became quiet as Gandalf started to speak in a booming, power filled voice. "Enough! If I say Bilbo Baggins is a burglar, then a burglar he is."

The darkness faded from the room, and Gandalf sat back down. "Hobbits are remarkably light on their feet. In fact, they can pass unseen by most if they choose. And while the dragon is accustomed to the smell of dwarf, the scent of hobbit is all but unknown to him, which gives us a distinct advantage." Gandalf informed Thorin. "You asked me to find the fourteenth member of this company, and I have chosen Mr. Baggins. There's a lot more to him then appearances suggest, and he's got a great deal more to offer than any of you know, including himself. You must trust me on this."

Thorin gave a sigh. "Very well. We will do it your way."

Bilbo began a chorus of no's to himself as Thorin turned to look at Balin, "Give him the contract."

"Please," Bilbo said, as Balin handed him a long list of paper.

"It's just the usual summary of out-of-pocket expenses, time required, remuneration, funeral arrangements, so forth," the dwarf told Bilbo.

"Funeral arrangements?" Bilbo asked in horror, taking a few steps back to read the contract. Balin turned to Aether, "Sorry lass, wasn't expecting you, so I didn't bring another."

Aether snorted. "I have no need for wealth," she told the white-bearded dwemer. "My friends back home have informed me that I have plenty enough as it is. They might go into shock if I bring back part of a dragon's hoard." Unvoiced, she added, _my dragon hoard is plenty big._

She glanced up, and caught the tail end of Thorin's and Gandalf's whispered conversation, "…responsible for his fate," Thorin was saying. Gandalf nodded, "Agreed."

Bilbo walked back in, reading out loud off the contract. "Terms: Cash on delivery, up to but not exceeding one fourteenth of total profit, if any." He read. "Sounds fair." All of the dwarves were watching him now, Aether and Gandalf included.

"Eh, present company shall not be liable for injuries inflicted by or sustained as a consequence thereof including but not limited to lacerations...evisceration...incineration?" He looked up at the company.

"Oh, aye, he'll melt the flesh straight off your bones in the blink of an eye." Bofur said.

Bilbo looked a little breathless. "Huh," he said.

Aether leaned forward, "Are you alright, Bilbo?" she asked the hobbit, who was looking a little faint.

"Uh, yeah…Feel a bit faint."

"Think furnace with wings," Bofur continued. Aether glared at him silently.

"Air, I-I-I need air," Bilbo gasped. Unfortunately for the hobbit, Bofur decided to carry on.

"Flash of light, searing pain, then Poof! you're nothing more than a pile of ash," he finished.

Bilbo was breathing heavily, trying to compose himself while everyone stared at him. "Hmmm, nope," he said, and promptly fainted. Aether peered over the table to look at him.

"Ah, very helpful, Bofur," Gandalf said as he went over to check on the poor hobbit, who was starting to wake up, and then took him to another room.

* * *

Aether was sitting on the floor by the fire, removing her armor, when Kíli walked up. "What's it like," he asked.

"What is what like?" Aether asked, tugging off a boot.

"Killing a dragon," he rephrased. Aether glanced up, thinking of the first time she had met Alduin, fully sure that she was going to die, and then Mirmulnir, the first dovah that had fallen under her blade.

"It's…different. It's not like killing a simple wolf or bandit. One is much more aware of the fact that they may die, burned alive or frozen to death. It's terrifying, and yet exhilarating."

Kíli blinked. "Oh."

Aether looked up, "But not every dragon I have met in my land is an enemy. There was once a black dragon, Alduin, the World-Eater. In my quest to defeat him, I met a dragon, Odahviing, who pledged himself to me if I could prove myself stronger than the First-born of Akatosh. He has been a loyal friend ever since."

Kíli opened his mouth to say more, when Thorin walked in with Balin, Thorin taking his place at the head of the group. His eyes rested on each one of them, Aether included. She blinked calmly under his gaze, and nodded her head, accepting his position as leader. Thorin rested against the fire, and the room fell silent, the dwarves bathed in the light of the fire.

The dwarves began to hum, and then Thorin started to sing, the other dwarves following after a little later. Aether leaned back against the wall, and listened.

_"Far over the misty mountains cold_

_To dungeons deep and caverns old_

_We must away ere break of day_

_To seek the pale enchanted gold._

_The dwarves of yore made mighty spells,_

_While hammers fell like ringing bells_

_In places deep, where dark things sleep,_

_In hollow halls beneath the fells._

_For ancient king and elvish lord_

_There many a gloaming golden hoard_

_They shaped and wrought, and light they caught_

_To hide in gems on hilt of sword._

_On silver necklaces they strung_

_The flowering stars, on crowns they hung_

_The dragon-fire, in twisted wire_

_They meshed the light of moon and sun._

_Far over the misty mountains cold_

_To dungeons deep and caverns old_

_We must away, ere break of day,_

_To claim our long-forgotten gold._

_Goblets they carved there for themselves_

_And harps of gold; where no man delves_

_There lay they long, and many a song_

_Was sung unheard by men or elves._

_The pines were roaring on the height,_

_The winds were moaning in the night._

_The fire was red, it flaming spread;_

_The trees like torches biased with light,_

_The bells were ringing in the dale_

_And men looked up with faces pale;_

_The dragon's ire more fierce than fire_

_Laid low their towers and houses frail._

_The mountain smoked beneath the moon;_

_The dwarves, they heard the tramp of doom._

_They fled their hall to dying -fall_

_Beneath his feet, beneath the moon._

_Far over the misty mountains grim_

_To dungeons deep and caverns dim_

_We must away, ere break of day,_

_To win our harps and gold from him!"_

* * *

Far away, in the land of Keizaal, a red dragon, many times smaller than the threat that Aether and the dwarves were preparing to face, rested next to the scarred form of Paarthurnax, the brother of Alduin, on the top of the tallest mountain in Tamriel, Monahven.

"I don't understand, Paarthurnax," he told the older dragon. "Where could _Lovok_ go, if she is not on Mundus?

Paarthurnax hummed, "There are many things in the world you have not learned yet, Odahviing. One is the fact that Mundus is not alone in the world. There are many, many more," he told the lithe dovah. "Your_ thur_ is safe, and you will know, and hear when she calls for your assistance. All you need to do is wait, and be patient."

The red dragon gave a frustrated snarl. "You speak in too many riddles, _Wuth Gein_." He grumbled.

_"Dii drog los tir til. Zu'u fent siiv ek, fah Zu'u lost vahriin dimaar wah faal Reg Lovok, viikiik do Al-du-in!"_

With that, Odahviing took to the skies, and flew off, while Paarthurnax watched silently from his perch on top of the broken word wall.

"You will return, young one," he murmured. _"Hi vis nunon hon ek nol het."_

**Author's Note Part II:** Finally reached the end of the first chapter in the Hobbit book. Big cheers! On the subject of Odahviing, yes he will join Aether again, just when, I am not sure. But he'll came when he's ready, don't worry. Reviews would be loved, as usual.

I've always thought that Odahviing had a flair for the dramatic, so that's how I wrote him.

Translation for Dragon Speech:

_Hi krii nid dovah, lost hi_: loosely translated, it means You have killed no dragons, have you?

_Lovok_: Aether

_Wuth Gein_: Old One

"_Dii drog los tir til. Zu'u fent siiv ek, fah Zu'u lost vahriin dimaar wah faal Reg Lovok, viikiik do Al-du-in!": _"My lord is out there. I shall find her, for I have sworn myself to the Lady Aether, defeater of Al-du-in! "

_"Hi vis nunon hon ek nol het.": _"You can only hear her from here. "

For the last one, I was thinking on why Odahviing would simply fly around the peak of the Throat of the World, instead of wandering the world like some other ones. Then I thought that maybe because it is the highest point of Skyrim, he would be able to hear a call from anywhere. See you next chapter!

_**DragonofAsgard**_


	5. Chapter V

**Author's Note Part I:** So here we are. Chapter 5. I would like to thank every one that has favorited or followed my story so far, and all the people that set aside time to review. Thanks!

_Disclaimer:_ No, I don't own anything. Sadly, Aether has refused to led me any gold, greedy dragon that she is, so I am back to the beginning. Not owning either Elder Scrolls or J.R.R. Tolkien's great work. Pity to me.

**By the time the sun had started** to rise, the Company was ready to head out. Gandalf had brought ponies for each dwarf, and there were several extras. Aether and Gandalf were to walk till they reached where Shadowmere and the other horse had been left. The ponies were packed full of gear, and Thorin was already up on his pony. The other dwarves mounted their own steeds, and off they went, thirteen dwarves on ponies, with a wizard and warrior walking alongside.

Gandalf's horse was lying under its tree, while Shadowmere was grazing, his bulk making him a large black dot among the tall grasses. Both horses looked up at the group approached; the dwarves and their ponies were quite loud. Shadowmere nickered, and trotted over to Aether. The dwarves stared as the large stallion passed eyes huge in amazement.

Aether grinned as she strapped her bow over Shadow's bags, and mounted the stallion. Gandalf mounted his own horse quickly after.

They had been riding for a while, and the dwarves started to take bets on whether or not Bilbo would join them. Aether laughed when Fíli asked if she wanted to bet, and she happily bet on Bilbo joining them, along with the wizard, who was utterly confident that the hobbit would come.

* * *

Bilbo awoke to a quiet house. He jumped out of his bed, pulled on his dressing-gown and went into the dining-room. There he saw nobody, but all the signs of a large, hurried breakfast. There was a fearful mess in the room, and piles of unwashed dishes in the kitchen. Nearly every pot and pan he possessed seemed to have been used. The washing-up was so dismally real that Bilbo was forced to believe that the party of the night before had not been part of his bad dreams, as he had rather hoped. Indeed he was really relieved after all to think that they had all gone without him, and without bothering to wake him up ("but with never a thank-you" he thought); and yet in a way he could not help feeling just a trifle disappointed. The feeling surprised him.

Bilbo looked around, and noticed the contract sitting a table. He stared at it for a bit, and looked up, a determined look on his face.

Bilbo ran out of Bag End, a bag over his shoulders, and the contract flying behind him. He ran through Hobbiton, jumping fences and pumpkins as he ran.

One of his neighbors looked up as he ran by. "Hey! Mr. Bilbo! Where are you off to!" he yelled after the hobbit.

"Can't stop, I'm already late!" Bilbo yelled over his shoulder as he ran down the path.

"Late for what?"

"I'm going on an adventure!"

* * *

The dwarves were riding their ponies along the trail, along with Gandalf and Aether on their horses, when Bilbo ran up, yelling "Wait! Wait!"

Several of the dwarves were quite noisy in halting their ponies, and Gandalf's horse and Shadowmere simply stopped, as everyone turned to watch the hobbit come running up, his contract waving like a white banner behind him.

"I signed it!" he yelled, handing the paper to Balin.

Balin inspected the contract with a pocket-glass. After a few seconds, he looked over and smiled at Bilbo. "Everything appears to be in order. Welcome, Master Baggins, to the company of Thorin Oakenshield."

Aether and the dwarves cheered, while Thorin looked on unimpressed. "Give him a pony," he grunted.

Bilbo looked wide-eyed. "No, no, no, no, that—that won't be necessary, thank you, but I—I'm sure I can keep up on foot."

Aether laughed. "There is nothing wrong with riding ponies! They are great fun."

Bilbo shook his head, "I would be quite fine walking. I—I—I've done my fair share of walking holidays, you know. I even got as Frogmorton once—WAGH!"

Aether and the dwarves laughed as Bilbo was grabbed by the young Durin brothers that rode up alongside and picked him up to sling him onto an extra pony.

* * *

Aether was riding alongside Gandalf, and on the other side of the wizard, Bilbo rode along looking quite terrified. He held the reins high and his back was as straight as a board. The pony neighed and tossed its head, making Bilbo look even more uncomfortable. Aether stifled a grin, and urged Shadowmere to circle around Gandalf till she rode on the other side of the hobbit.

"You have to relax," she informed him. "Otherwise you will be very sore tonight." Bilbo eyed her, but he did relax slightly, the reins dropping a few inches.

"Come on, Nori, pay up," said Oin. "Go on."

Nori tossed a sack of money over to Oin, and soon sacks were flying all over the company.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Oin exclaimed. Aether laughed, as she caught one of her own.

"What's that about?" Bilbo asked Gandalf, eying Aether's sacks of gold as she stuffed them into one of her steed's saddlebags.

"Oh, they took wagers on whether or not you'd turn up. Most of them bet that you wouldn't."

Bilbo nodded for a minute, and then asked Gandalf, "What did you think?"

The wizard grinned as he caught a coin purse thrown his way, "My dear fellow, I never doubted you for a minute."

Aether laughed, and Bilbo sneezed. He began to pat his pockets, "All this horse hair, I'm having a reaction." He froze and halted his pony, Shadowmere stopping as well. "No, no, wait, wait, stop!" he cried out "We have to turn around!" making all the dwarves start to object and ask what the problem was.

"What on earth is the matter?" Gandalf asked, eying the hobbit with concern in his eyes.

"I forgot my handkerchief."

At that, there was an uproar of laughter from Aether and the dwarves. "Here," Bofur cried, tearing off a piece of his jacket. "Use this."

At Bilbo's look of disgust, laughter ran through the company again as they urged their ponies onward.

"You'll have to manage without pocket handkerchiefs and a many good other many things, Bilbo Baggins, before we reach our journey's end. You were born to the rolling hills and little rivers of the Shire, but now home is far behind you; the world is ahead." Gandalf said, as they rode on.

* * *

It had been a couple of days since the beginning of their trip, and they were camped out near the edge of a cliff. Bilbo, after watching Gloin inhale and exhale a group of moths for a while, got up and walked over to his pony, feeding her an apple. Most of the dwarves were asleep; Gandalf, Aether, Fíli, and Kíli were still awake.

Aether was sitting at the ledge, staring out at the dark horizon. Fíli and Kíli were on watch, and Gandalf was sitting smoking his pipe.

Aether looked up as a scream echoed through the air. Behind her, Bilbo ran over to the dwarf brothers.

"What was that?" he asked nervously.

"Orcs," Kíli replied. Aether frowned, for no Orc back home had ever sounded like that.

Thorin jerked awake from where he was dozing; and another scream pierced the night.

"Orcs?" Aether asked, before Bilbo could. She stood up and walked over to the fire, sitting down besides Fíli.

"Throat-cutters," Fíli said. "There'll be dozens of them out there. The lowlands are crawling with them."

Kíli grinned, "They strike in the wee hours of the night, when everyone's asleep. Quick and quiet; no screams, just lots of blood."

Bilbo flinched, and Fíli and Kíli looked at each other and laughed. Aether gave Fíli a hard nudge as Thorin growled. "You think that's funny?" he asked, standing up. "You think a night raid by orcs is a joke?"

The brothers looked down, subdued. "We didn't mean anything by it," Kíli said in a small voice.

"No, you didn't. You know nothing of the world." Thorin gave the two a disappointed look and turned to walk over to the edge of the cliff. He stared out over the valley, as Balin, now awake, walked over to the group by the fire.

"Don't mind him laddie," he told the hobbit, resting a hand on his shoulder. "Thorin has more cause than most to hate orcs. After the dragon took the Lonely Mountain, King Thror tried to reclaim the ancient dwarf kingdom of Moria. But our enemy had got there first."

Aether listened silently as Balin spoke.

"Moria had been taken by legions of Orcs lead by the most vile of all their race: Azog the Defiler. The giant Gundabad Orc had sworn to wipe out the line of Durin. He began by beheading the King."

Balin looked around, as more dwarves awoke and sat listening to the tale, as Thorin stared out into the night, unmoving.

"Thrain, Thorin's father, was driven mad with grief. He went missing, taken prisoner or killed, we do not know. We were leaderless. Defeat and death were upon us. That is when I saw him: a young dwarf prince facing down the Pale Orc. He stood alone against this terrible foe, his armor rent…wielding nothing more but an oaken branch as a shield." Balin paused. "Azog, the Defiler, learned that day that the line of Durin would not be so easily broken. Our forces rallied and drove the orcs back. Our enemy had been defeated. But there was no feast, no song, that night, for our dead were beyond the count of grief. We few had survived." Balin looked up, "And I thought to myself then, there is one I could follow. There is one I could call King."

Thorin turned away from the cliff. The entire Company had awoken and were standing in awe, staring at him. Thorin walked between them to the fire.

"But the pale orc? What happened to him?" Bilbo asked.

"He slunk back into the hole from whence he came," Thorin growled. "That filth died of his wounds long ago."

The dwarves returned to their bedrolls, leaving Aether up with Fíli and Kíli on watch for the rest of the night.

* * *

The Company rode through a muddy forest, and it was raining rather nicely. Everyone was soaked, and the dwarves were quite grumpy. Aether mostly ignored it, and Shadowmere loved it, tossing his head every few minutes.

"Mr. Gandalf!" Dori yelled from farther in the pack. "Can't you do something about this deluge?"

Gandalf snorted, "It is raining, Master Dwarf, and it shall continue to rain till the rain is done. If you wish to change the weather of the world, you should find yourself another wizard."

Aether looked up at the cloudy sky, and wondered if it was worth using Clear Skies over listening to dwarves grumble and moan all day.

"Are there any?" Bilbo asked Gandalf.

"What?" the wizard asked.

"Other wizards," Bilbo repeated.

"There are five of us. The greatest of our order is Saruman, the White. Then there are the two Blue Wizards; you know, I've quite forgotten their names."

Gandalf and Bilbo continued their conversation about the wizards of the world, as Aether decided that listening to dwemer whine all day wasn't worth the cooling rain. She looked up into the sky and Shouted; "**_Lok Vah Koor_**!" and watched silently as the rain slowed, then stopped completely. The dwarves gasped and muttered to each other.

"How did you do that?" one of the dwarves asked curiously, urging his pony up next to Shadowmere. Aether looked down at him and grinned mischievously. "Magic," she said, and rode up next to Gandalf. Thorin eyed her, but said nothing.

* * *

It was nearing the end of the day when the Company stopped at the ruins of an old, abandoned farmhouse.

Thorin looked around, and dismounted. "We'll camp here for the night," he decided. "Fíli, Kíli, look after the ponies. Make sure you stay with them."

Aether dismounted from Shadowmere, and told the stallion to go with the two brothers. The horse gave her a look, but turned and followed behind the ponies. Gandalf was talking to himself as she walked up.

"A farmer and his family used to live here," he said. Aether looked around at the destruction. "Not anymore, that's for sure," she stated. Gandalf nodded.

Aether left as Thorin and Gandalf started an argument, and she watched as the wizard huffed and walked over to his horse, mounting it, declaring that he was off to seek the company of the only one around with any commonsense. Aether snickered when Bilbo asked who, and he said, "Myself, Mr. Baggins! I've had enough with dwarves for one day."

Aether helped Bombur with dinner, and it was dark, the dwarves sitting around eating.

"He's been a long time," Bilbo said suddenly.

"Who?" Aether asked, looking up.

"Gandalf."

"He's a wizard!" Bofur exclaimed. "He does as he chooses. Here, do us a favor: take this to the lads," he said, handing Bilbo two bowls of soup for Fíli and Kíli. Bilbo heading over to where the ponies were kept, and Aether watched with a smile as Bombur tried to take more soup, and Bofur rapped his fingers with the ladle.

"Stop it, you've had plenty," he informed the large dwarf.

Everyone was settling down for the night, when Fíli came running into the camp alone.

"Fíli," Aether greeted. "What's the matter?"

"Trolls," Fíli gasped. "They got Bilbo."

Instantly the camp was a whirlwind of dwarves scrambling for their armor and weapons. They quickly followed Fíli into the woods.

Kíli's voice echoed from up ahead. "Drop him!" he shouted.

"You what?" a different voice asked.

"I said, drop him!" Kíli yelled again, and Aether emerged from the brush with Fíli as Bilbo was thrown at Kíli, spending the dwarf and hobbit sprawling.

The rest of the Company came charging out, yelling and brandishing their weapons. Aether sliced at one troll's heel, and it yelled as Ahkrin's runes blazed to life, scorching the troll's foot. Just then, one of the trolls suddenly popped a sack right over Thorin's head and down to his toes. And so the fight ended.

The others dropped their blades in surrender, and Aether stabbed Ahkrin into the ground.

The dwarves found themselves tied up, stripped of their armor. Several of them on a pit over the fire, with Aether, Kíli, Bilbo and several others shoved in bags and thrown in a big pile with Thorin. Aether silently snarled at the trolls, wishing she could simply shift and tear them apart, but they were unfortunately much larger than Skyrim's trolls. So she settled for glaring at them.

"Don't bother cooking them," said the first troll. "Let's just sit on them and squash them into jelly."

"They should be sautéed and grilled with a sprinkle of sage," the second one said.

"Is this really necessary?" Dori asked from his position on the spit.

"Ooh, that does sound quite nice."

The dwarves started yelling and wiggling, and Aether grunted as Kíli fell across her lower legs.

"Never mind the seasoning, we ain't got all night! Dawn ain't far away, so let's get a move on. I don't fancy being turned to stone."

Bilbo perked up at that, and the dwarves and Aether watched as the hobbit struggled to stand.

"Wait!" he cried. "You are making a terrible mistake!"

"You can't reason with them, they're half-wits!" Dori yelled.

"Half-wits?" Bofur asked. "What does that make us?"

Aether watched Bilbo hobble closer. "Uh, I meant with the , uh, with the seasoning."

"What about the seasoning?" Troll #2 asked

"Well have you smelt them?" Bilbo asked, looking up at the trolls. "You're going to need something stronger than sage before you plate this lot up."

Aether gave a slow grin when she realized what Bilbo was trying to do, while the dwarves yelled and called the hobbit a traitor.

"What do you know about cooking dwarf?" the third troll asked

"Shut up and let the, uh, flurgaburburrahobbit talk," one said, followed by the sound of someone being slapped.

Bilbo looked trapped. "Uh, th—the secret to cooking dwarf is, um—"

"Yes? Come on," a troll interrupted.

"It's, uh—"

"Tell us the secret," a troll demanded.

"Ye—yes," Bilbo stuttered. "I'm telling you, the secret is…. to skin them first!"

"Tom, get me the filleting knife," the second troll said. The dwarves erupted into insults, yelling at Bilbo. Aether sighed, and rolled her eyes.

"What a load of rubbish!" the newly named Tom declared. "I've eaten plenty with their skins on. Scuff them, I say, boots and all."

Aether's sharp eyes caught movement from behind the trolls, and grinned as she recognized Gandalf.

"`e's right!" a troll said, walking over the dwarf pile and picked up Bombur. "Nothing wrong with a bit of raw dwarf! Nice and crunchy."

Bilbo panicked. "Not—not that one, he—he's infected!" Bilbo cried, attempting to save the dwarf from being eaten.

"You what?" Tom asked.

"Yeah," Bilbo nodded. "He's got worms in his—tubes."

The troll dropped Bombur back into the pile of dwarves, and Aether let out a grunt when the dwarf landed partly on her.

"Get off me!" she growled.

Bilbo continued, "In—in fact they all have, they're infested with parasites," he cried, happily using his idea to completion. "It's a terrible business; I wouldn't risk it, I really wouldn't."

The dwarves started yelling again.

"Parasites, did he say parasites?"

"We don't have parasites! You have parasites!"

"What are you talking about, laddie?"

Aether groaned. "_Hi los pah hefhah_," she grumbled. She jerked her legs, jolting Kíli. When the dwarf paused in his yelling to look up at her, she raised a brow. Thorin had caught on as well, and kicked a dwarf near him.

The dwarf pile fell silent, then they started proclaiming loudly on how they were 'riddled' with parasites.

"I've got parasites as big as my arm!" Oin cried.

"Mine are the biggest parasites, I've got huge parasites!"

"Yes, we're riddled."

Aether joined in, "They have horrible parasites!" she yelled.

Tom frowned. "Then what would you have us do? Let `em all go?"

"Well," Bilbo began, a thoughtful look on his face.

"You think I don't what you're up to? This little ferret is taking us for fools!"

"Ferret?" Bilbo asked.

"Fools?" a troll asked.

"Aye! The ferret was trying to distract us!" the troll cried. "The female ain't got parasites! We can eat her."

Aether froze. "_Oo shir. Fahvos los nii unstiid zey?" _she grumbled.

Aether and the dwarves glanced up as Gandalf appeared on the top of a rock. ""Dawn take you all, and be stone to you!" the wizard cried, raising his staff.

"Who's that?" Troll #2 asked.

"No idea," Tom said.

"Can we eat `im too?" the last troll asked.

Gandalf stuck the rock with his staff, and it split in half. Sunlight poured into the clearing, and as it touched the trolls' skin, they became to scream and yell in pain. Before long, three statues stood in place of the trolls.

The dwarves all cheered, and the ones on the spit looked uncomfortable.

"Oh, get your foot out of my back," Dwalin said.

* * *

Aether pulled Ahkrin out of the dirt, and polished the blade's tip on her tunic. Gandalf was poking at the troll statues with his staff, a pleased smile on his face.

"Where did you go to, if I may ask?" Thorin asked the wizard.

"To look ahead," he replied.

"What brought you back?"

"Looking behind," Gandalf looked up. "Nasty business. Still, they are all in one piece," he motioned to the dwarves.

"No thanks to your burglar."

Gandalf frowned at Thorin. "He had the nous to play for time. None of the rest of you thought of that."

Thorin looked repentant, and the two examined the statues.

"They must have come down from the Ettenmoors," Gandalf said thoughtfully.

"Since when do mountain trolls venture this far south?" Thorin asked.

"Oh, not for an age, not since a darker power ruled over these lands."

Aether watched as she took her bow from Fíli, and thanked him.

"They could not have moved in the daylight," Gandalf told Thorin.

"There must be a cave nearby," the dwarf said.

They searched about, and soon found the marks of trolls' stony boots going away through the trees. They followed the tracks up the hill, until hidden by bushes they came on a big door of stone leading to a cave. But they could not open it, not though they all pushed while Gandalf tried various incantations.

"Would this be any good?" asked Bilbo, when they were getting tired and angry. "I found it on the ground where the trolls had their fight." He held out a largish key, though no doubt William had thought it very small and secret. It must have fallen out of his pocket, very luckily, before he was turned to stone.

"Why on earth didn't you mention it before?" they cried. Gandalf grabbed it and fitted it into the key-hole. Then the stone door swung back with one big push, and they all went inside

"Oh, what's that stench?" Nori asked.

"It's a troll hoard," Gandalf said. "Be careful of what you touch."

Aether followed the dwarves into the cave, grinning as they complained about the smell, until they caught sight of all the gold and treasure that filled the dark room.

"Seems such a shame just to leave it lyin' around," Bofur commented. "Anyone could take it."

Glóin nodded. "Agreed. Nori, get a shovel."

Farther down Thorin and Gandalf were examining two swords that according to Gandalf, were forged by High Elves of the First Age.

She turned her attention back to where some of the dwarves were filling a chest full of gold, and leaned against the wall.

"We're making a long-term deposit," Glóin informed her. Dwalin looked on in disgust.

"Let's get out of this foul place," Thorin told them, walking up the slope to outside. "Come on, let's go. Bofur! Glóin! Nori!"

Aether followed behind Dwalin, leaving Gandalf as last. A minute later, the wizard appeared with a short sword; which looked more like a long dagger, held in his hand.

He walked up to Bilbo and presented the blade to the hobbit. "Bilbo," the wizard said.

"Hmm?" Bilbo said, looking up.

"Here. This is about your size."

"I can't take this!" Bilbo cried, looking quite shocked.

"The blade is of Elvish make which means it will glow blue when orcs or goblins are nearby."

Aether hummed. "Sounds similar to a blade of mine. Dawnbreaker, it was called. Gleamed pure white in the presence of enemies."

Bilbo sighed, and took the sword. "But I have never used a sword in my life."

"And I hope you never have to. But if you do, remember this; true courage is about not knowing when to take a life, but when to spare one."

* * *

A few hours after they had left the troll cave, when Thorin called out. "Something's coming!" he cried.

"Gandalf-" Bilbo started.

"Stay together!" Gandalf told the company. "Hurry now, arm yourselves."

Bilbo drew his sword and stared at it, then rushed after the others, who had ran off into the woods.

They soon found out that it was only Radagast the Brown, who rode up on a sled pulled by rabbits, looking quite fearful.

"Radagast!" Gandalf exclaimed. "Radagast the Brown. Ah. What on earth are you doing here?"

"I was looking for you, Gandalf. Something's wrong. Something's terribly wrong."

"Yes?"

The two wizards carried on their conversation, while Aether watched the rabbits, who were very aware of what she was, and were quite nervous. She looked back up when the brown wizard said something about a stick insect, which she was quite sure had nothing to do about things being terribly wrong somewhere.

The dwarves and Bilbo were looking flustered, and Gandalf held the fore-mentioned insect between his fingers. The two wizards wandered farther away from the group to talk, and Aether sat down, resting Ahkrin on her lap. She looked up as a howl echoed through the woods.

"Was that a wolf?" Bilbo asked nervously. "Are there—are there wolves around out there?"

Aether shook her head as she stood. "That was no wolf."

Bofur nodded, "Aye. That was no wolf."

A huge wolf-like creature appeared from over a nearby hill. It looked similar to the werewolves of Skyrim, but Aether decided that it was far uglier. The beast gave another howl before lunging down the hill to the dwarves. Thorin killed it instantly using his new elf-blade. Another of the ugly beasts attacked from the other side, and Kíli shot it with an arrow, bringing it falling. But it rose again, only to be killed by Dwalin.

"Warg-scouts!" Thorin yelled. "Which means an Orc-pack is not far behind."

"Orc pack?" Aether asked.

Gandalf marched up to Thorin. "Who did you tell about your quest, beyond your kin?" the wizard growled.

"No one," Thorin replied.

"Who did you tell?" Gandalf repeated.

"No one, I swear. What in Durin's name is going on here?"

Gandalf stood up. "You are being hunted."

"We have to get out of here," Dwalin stated.

"We can't!" Ori cried. "We have no ponies; they all bolted, except that black stallion of Miss Aether's."

"I'll draw them off," Radagast said suddenly, causing everyone to turn and look at him.

_"_These are Gundabad Wargs; they will outrun you," Gandalf said.

Radagast looked smug. "These are Rhosgobel Rabbits; I'd like to see them try."

* * *

Aether watched as the brown wizard rode out of the forest, pulled by his 'Rhosgobel rabbits' (whatever those were).

His laughing voice echoed back to the Company. "Come and get me! Ha ha!"

Gandalf nodded, watching as the Wargs ran after the wizard. "Come on!"

The group rushed out onto the rocky plain, Aether taking up the back of the pack. In the distance Radagast was being chased by a pack of Wargs, and one of them crashed in attempting to catch him. The dwarves ran from boulder to boulder, hiding from the Wargs and their riders. After running for a bit, they stopped for breath behind another rock. Aether and Thorin looked up at the sound of something sniffing on the rock above them, followed by the sound of claws clicking on stone. Thorin looked at Kíli and nodded his head. Kíli readied an arrow, then stepped out of the rock's cover, and shot the Warg. The wolf-beast and its rider tumbled down the rock, and the dwarves and Aether quickly worked to kill it. But they were too slow, and the sound of their fight echoed over the plains, catching the attention of the other Orcs.

An Orc yelled from behind them. "_The Dwarf-scum are over there! After them!"_

"Move!" Gandalf yelled. "Run!"

Now that they had been discovered, the Company no longer bothered with cover and simply bolted out over the land. The Wargs caught up quickly, and began to surround them.

"There they are!" Glóin cried.

Just then, Shadowmere erupted from the forest. He charged the oncoming Wargs with a squeal of fury, and both parties stared at the stallion. Aether laughed, and everyone was in motion again.

"This way!" Gandalf cried, taking advantage of the time that Shadowmere gave them to escape. "Quickly!"

The dwarves, Bilbo and Aether ran after the wizard, and soon came to a halt in front of a large, jagged boulder that rose into the sky. Wargs appeared on all sides, but fewer than before, others had stayed behind to try and kill Shadow.

"There's more coming!" Kíli yelled, drawing his bow.

"Kíli! Shoot them!" Thorin yelled, and Aether sheathed Ahkrin and pulled out her bow as well.

Gandalf, unseen, disappeared into the large rock behind them.

"We're surrounded!" Fíli shouted.

Aether and Kíli shot down several of the charging Wargs and their riders, killing several. Kíli looked up, and noticed that the wizard was missing. "Where is Gandalf?" he asked.

"He had abandoned us," Dwalin growled.

The Company backed closer the rock that Gandalf had gone down, and the Orcs drew in. Ori slung a rock at the nearest one, but the Warg barely flinched.

Thorin drew his sword. "Hold your ground!"

Shadowmere finally came charging up over a hill, followed by several Orcs, who were trying, and failing to shoot him down. Gandalf also popped up from a crack in the rock.

"This way, you fools!" he yelled at the dwarves.

Thorin glanced back, and nodded. "Come on, move! Quickly, all of you! Go, go, go!"

As the Wargs drew nearer, some pulling off to deal with Shadow, the dwarves and Bilbo jumped down the crack, until it was just Aether, Thorin and Kíli up top. Kíli shot another, and then ran over, sliding down the slope. Thorin glanced at Aether.

"You go," she said, nodding at the hole. "I will help Shadowmere hold them off."

With that she handed the surprised dwarf Ahkrin and her bow, with a stern 'Watch them' and in front of the dwarf's astonished eyes, shifted. Where a woman stood two seconds before, a huge black furred wolf sat. Silver-blue eyes glared at Thorin, and the dwarf jumped down, one last glance back showing the wolf, who was only slightly smaller than the Wargs, running to where the black horse fought off three Orcs.

**Author's Note Part II:** Hope everyone liked the chapter. Lots of action, in my opinion. I'm pretty sure I caught all the mistakes, but no one is perfect, so if you see any, please inform me. Reviews will be loved and treasured as always. See you next chapter!

Translation for Dragon:

_"Hi los pah hefhah_": You are all idiots

"_Oo shir. Fahvos los nii unstiid zey?"_: Oh dear. Why is it always me?

_**DragonofAsgard**_


	6. Chapter VI

** Author's Note Part I**: So I hope that I made Thorin's reaction to the fact that his dragon-slayer is a werewolf believable enough, I thought I did, at least. This might possibly be the last chapter for a while, I might get another out. My aunt and uncle are visiting on Sunday, and staying for a week. And then I going to visit a friend for a week, so I wouldn't be doing any writing. And after that, my friend will come down to our house. The week after that school begins, I think, so chapters will be slower. Other than that, hope you enjoy the chapter!

_Disclaimer:_ If I owned the Hobbit and Elder Scrolls, I would not be going to public school this year. Homeschooling is much more fun, more freedom. And I would be able to write more chapters faster.

**After Thorin jumped down, Ahkrin held** in one hand and his elven-sword in the other, Gandalf looked at the dwarf, worried.

"Where is Aether?" the wizard asked Thorin eying the ivory sword.

"Fighting with her horse," Thorin said gruffly.

"Without her weapons?" Bilbo said.

Thorin snorted. "She has weapons."

The dwarf opened his mouth to say more, when the sound of hoof beats joined the chaos going on in the plains. A dead orc tumbled down the gap, causing the dwarves to scatter.

Thorin pulled out the arrow in its chest. "Elves," he snarled.

Dwalin yelled from the back of the cave. "I cannot see where the pathway leads! Do we follow it or no?"

"Follow it, of course!" Bofur exclaimed.

Gandalf gave a knowing smile. "I think that would be wise."

The dwarves followed the path, as it wandered between two cliffs. Some parts were so narrow that the dwarves were forced to walk sideways to fit through. The path eventually opened up into a large valley, where Rivendell sat below.

"Ah," Gandalf said. "The Valley of Imraldis. In the Common Tongue, it's known by another name."

Bilbo nodded, "Rivendell."

"Here lies the last Homely House east of the sea."

Thorin growled. "This was your plan all along, to seek refuge with our enemy."

Gandalf sighed. "You have no enemies here, Thorin Oakenshield. The only ill-will to be found in this valley is which you bring yourself."

"You think the Elves will give our quest their blessing? They will try to stop us."

"Of course they will," Gandalf agreed, walking down a narrow path down towards Rivendell. "But we have questions that need to be answered. If we are to be successful, this will need to be handled with tact and respect and no small degree of charm. Which is why you will leave the talking to me."

Thorin snorted, but followed the wizard, the others spreading out behind him.

When they arrived to the door of Rivendell, a dark-haired elf walked down a flight of stairs down to the Company.

"Mithrandir," the elf greeted the wizard.

"Ah, Lindir!" Gandalf exclaimed.

As the elf and wizard greeted each other, the dwarves grumbled to themselves in distrust. Thorin looked over to Dwalin. "Stay sharp." he warned.

"_Lastannem i athrannedh i Vruinen."_ Lindir said.

Gandalf nodded. "I must speak with Lord Elrond."

"My lord Elrond is not here."

"Not here?" Gandalf asked, shocked. "Where is he?"

Elvish horns rang through the air. The Company spun around to see a group of mounted, armed elves riding towards them at a rapid rate. At the back, Shadowmere followed.

"_Ifridî bekâr!" _Thorin yelled. "Hold ranks!"

The dwarves bunched themselves in a tight circle, with Bilbo shoved in the middle. The mounted Elves arrived, and rode in circles around the dwarves. Several of the Company recognized Shadowmere's furry black coat, which stood out against the Elves well-groomed horses.

The elves halted, and one separated from the others, a large black wolf following him. Thorin's eyes narrowed as he recognized Aether, and the wolf gave him a lazy wink.

"Gandalf."

Gandalf bowed gracefully. "Lord Elrond. _Mellonnen! Mo evínedh?"_

"_Farannem 'lamhoth i udul o charad. Dagannem rim na Iant Vedui."_

Elrond paused, and looked down at Aether. "We also found this wolf, and the black horse fighting them."

As Gandalf glanced at the wolf in surprise, Lord Elrond dismounted. He and Gandalf hugged, and the elf added, "Strange for Orcs to come so close to our borders. Something, or someone, has drawn them near."

"Ah," Gandalf said. "That may have been us."

Thorin stepped forward, staring at Aether. He looked up as Elrond greeted him. "Welcome Thorin, son of Thrain."

"I do not believe we have met." Thorin said.

"You have your grandfather's bearing. I knew Thror when he ruled under the Mountain."

"Indeed; he made no mention of you."

Elrond ignored the insult, and turned to the dwarves. _"Nartho i noer, toltho i viruvor. Boe i annam vann a nethail vin."_

"What is he saying?" Glóin demanded. "Does he offer us insult?"

The dwarves grew bellicose, and griped their weapons uneasily. Gandalf rolled his eyes, and said exasperatedly, "No, master Glóin, he's offering you food."

The dwarves muttered among themselves, and Glóin looked up.

"Ah well, in that case, lead on."

The Company stood around as the elves lead their horses off, and after most of them had left, Thorin turned to where the wolf still sat, watching him. The dwarf pulled Ahkrin from where it rested next to his elf-sword on his back; and offered to the wolf, amid the dwarves' baffled expressions.

"I do believe this is yours," he told the wolf dryly, giving her a suspicious look.

Aether gave Thorin a delighted wolfish grin, and in front of the Company's astonished gazes, returned to human form; and took Ahkrin from Thorin's hand.

"Thank you, Master Oakenshield," she said, sheathing the blade. She then walked past the dwarves, gave Gandalf a nod, and headed up the steps after the Lord Elrond.

"I don't know about you bunch, but I am hungry from all that fighting and running."

The dwarves shook themselves from their shock, and with a glance at Thorin, rushed after the werewolf dragon-slayer.

* * *

The dwarves were sitting around tables, complaining over all the green food. Aether was sprawled out by Fíli, and he often glanced over at the dragon-slayer, like he expected her to become a huge wolf any second. She looked up and caught his eyes when he looked at her again.

"Calm down Fíli. I don't bite." she told the dwarf with an amused smile. The blonde-haired dwarf snorted, but returned his attention to the table to join in with the other dwarfs' complaints.

"Try it." Dori said. "Just a mouthful."

"I don't like green food," Ori grumbled.

Dwalin looked through a bowl of greens. "Where the meat?" he asked, staring at the bowl.

"Have they got any chips?" Ori asked as Oin stabbed a vegetable with his knife and eyed it in disgust.

At the top of the table, Elrond looked at the two elf-blades that Thorin had found in the troll cave.

"These are not troll-make. They are old swords, very old swords of the High Elves of the West, my kin. They were made in Gondolin for the Goblin-wars. They must have come from a dragon's hoard or goblin plunder, for dragons and goblins destroyed that city many ages ago. This, Thorin, the runes name Orcrist, the Goblin-cleaver in the ancient tongue of Gondolin; it was a famous blade. This, Gandalf, was Glamdring, Foe-hammer that the king of Gondolin once wore. Keep them well!"

"Whence did the trolls get them, I wonder?" said Thorin looking at his sword with new interest.

"I could not say," said Elrond, "but one may guess that your trolls had plundered other plunderers, or come on the remnants of old robberies in some hold in the mountains of the North. I have heard that there are still forgotten treasures of old to be found in the deserted caverns of the mines of Moria, since the dwarf and goblin war."

Thorin pondered these words. "I will keep this sword in honor," he said.

"May it soon cleave goblins once again!"

"A wish that is likely to be granted soon enough in the mountains!"

* * *

It was dark, and Gandalf, Thorin, Balin, Bilbo, Aether and Elrond were standing in a hall.

"Our business is no concern of elves," Thorin declared.

"For goodness sake, Thorin, show him the map." Gandalf said, exasperated.

"It is the legacy of my people; it is mine to protect, as are its secrets."

"Save me from the stubbornness of Dwarves," Gandalf groaned. "Your pride will be your downfall. You stand here in the presence of one of the few in Middle-earth who can read that map. Show it to Lord Elrond."

Thorin stood quietly for a bit, thinking, as everyone watched him. Slowly, he handed the map to Elrond.

"Thorin, no!" Balin said, attempting to stop him, but Thorin brushed him off.

Lord Elrond took the map, and opened it. He gazed long at it, and he shook his head; for if he did not altogether approve of dwarves and their love of gold, he hated dragons and their cruel wickedness, and he grieved to remember the ruin of the town of Dale and its merry bells, and the burned banks of the bright River Running. The moon was shining in a broad silver crescent. He held up the map and the white light shone through it.

"What is this?" he said. "There are moon-letters here, beside the plain runes which say 'five feet high the door and three may walk abreast.' "

"What are moon-letters?" asked Bilbo and Aether, the latter cocking her head in confusion.

"Moon-letters are rune-letters, but you cannot see them," said Elrond, "not when you look straight at them. They can only be seen when the moon shines behind them, and what is more, with the more cunning sort it must be a moon of the same shape and season as the day when they were written. The dwarves invented them and wrote them with silver pens, as your friends could tell you. These must have been written on a midsummer's eve in a crescent moon, a long while ago."

"What do they say?" asked Gandalf and Thorin together, a bit vexed perhaps that even Elrond should have found this out first, though really there had not been a chance before, and there would not have been another until goodness knows when.

"Stand by the grey stone when the thrush knocks," read Elrond, "and the setting sun with the last light of Durin's Day will shine upon the key-hole."

"Durin, Durin!" said Thorin. "He was the father of the fathers of the eldest race of Dwarves, the Longbeards, and my first ancestor: I am his heir."

"Then what is Durin's Day?" asked Elrond.

"The first day of the dwarves' New Year," said Thorin, "is as all should know the first, day of the last moon of Autumn on the threshold of Winter. We still call it Durin's Day when the last moon of Autumn and the sun are in the sky together. But this will not help us much, I fear, for it passes our skill in these days to guess when such a time will come again."

"That remains to be seen," said Gandalf. "Is there any more writing?"

"None to be seen by this moon," said Elrond, and he gave the map back to Thorin.

The dwarves were having a late-night party, roasting sausages over a fire that they had made by burning furniture. Bofur was holding a sausage, was looking at Bombur, who was sitting on a bench with a large bowl of food. He glanced back down at his sausage thoughtfully.

"Bombur!" he yelled over the fire. As Bombur looked up, Bofur tossed the sausage over. Bombur caught it, and somehow the weight of the sausage proved too much for the bench, and it broke, sending a shrieking Bombur falling to the floor, along with all his food.

There was a moment of silence, then the dwarves and Aether, who had joined them for the meat, laughed uproariously.

* * *

Gandalf and Elrond walked up a flight of stairs and into a outdoor pavilion.

"With or without our help, these dwarves will march on the mountain. They are determined to reclaim their homeland. I do not believe that Thorin Oakenshield feels that he's answerable to anyone. Nor for that matter am I," Gandalf told Elrond.

"It is not me you should answer to," Elrond replied.

Gandalf looked up, and saw a tall female Elf standing framed in the moonlight. She slowly turned around, and Gandalf looked surprised to see her.

"Lady Galadriel."

"Mithrandir," Galadriel said. "It has been a long time."

"_Nae nin gwistant infanneth, mal ú-eichia i Chíril Lorien."_ Gandalf said. Galadriel smiled.

"I had no idea Lord Elrond sent for you." Gandalf said.

"He didn't," a new voice said from the shadows. "I did."

Gandalf turned to see a white-haired man in white robes walk up.

He bowed. "Saruman."

"You've been busy of late, my friend," Saruman said.

Dawn was rising, and Gandalf and Saruman sat at a table, as Elrond and Galadriel walked around.

"Tell me, Gandalf," Saruman said, "did you think these plans and schemes of yours would go unnoticed?"

"Unnoticed?" Gandalf asked. "No, I am simply doing what I feel to be right."

"The dragon has long been on your mind." Galadriel stated.

"This is true, my lady. Smaug owes allegiance to no one. But if he should side with the enemy, a dragon could be used to a terrible affect."

"What enemy?" Saruman demanded. "Gandalf, the enemy is defeated. Sauron is vanquished. He can never regain his full strength."

Elrond nodded. "Gandalf, for four hundred years we have lived in peace. A hard-won, watchful peace."

"Are we? Are we at peace? Trolls have come down from the mountains. They are raiding villages, destroying farms. Orcs have attacked us on the road."

"Hardly the prelude to a war."

"Always you must meddle, looking for trouble were no exists." Saruman said.

"Let him speak," Galadriel said.

"There is something at work beyond the evil of Smaug. Something far more powerful. We can remain blind, but it will not be ignoring us, that I can promise you. A sickness lies over the Greenwood. The woodsmen who live there now call it 'Mirkwood'. And they say…" Gandalf trailed off.

"Well don't stop now. Tell us about the woodsmen say," Saruman demanded.

"They speak of a Necromancer living in Dol Guldur, a sorcerer who can summon the dead."

"That's absurd," Saruman snorted. "No such power exists in the world. This…Necromancer is nothing more than a mortal man. A conjurer dabbling in black magic."

"And so I thought also. But, Radagast has seen—"

"Radagast? Don't speak to me about Radagast the Brown. He is a foolish fellow."

"Well, he is odd, I grant you," Gandalf admitted. "He lives a solitary life."

"It's not that. It's his excessive consumption of mushrooms. They've addled his brain and yelled his teeth. I warned him, it is unbefitting of the Istari to be wander in the woods…"

"_You carry something." _Galadriel told Gandalf telepathically_. "It came to you from Radagast. He found it in Dol Guldur."_

"_Yes."_

"_Show me."_

Gandalf brought out Radagast's package, which he had sitting in his lap, and placed it on the table with a dull thud.

"…or I'd think I was talking to myself…." Saruman was saying.

"What is that?" Lord Elrond interrupted.

"A relic of Mordor."

Elrond, who had been reaching out to unwrap the package, pulled his hand back. After a pause, he reached out for it again, and flicks open the fabric, revealing the sword that Radagast had took from the spirit in Dol Guldur. Everyone looked upon it in shock.

"A Morgul blade," Elrond said.

"Made for the Witch-King of Angmar, and buried with him," Galadriel said. "When Angmar fell, men of the North took his body and all that he possessed and sealed it within the High-Fells of Rhudaur. Deep within the rock they buried him, in a tomb so dark it would never come to light."

"This is not possible," Elrond said. "A powerful spell lies upon those tombs; they cannot be opened."

"What proof do we have this weapons came from Angmar's grave?" Saruman demanded, seemly determined to prove Gandalf wrong.

"I have none."

"Because there is none! Let us examine what we know. A single Orc pack has dared to cross the Bruinen. A dagger from a bygone age has been found. And a human sorcerer, who calls himself the Necromancer, has taken up residence in a ruined fortress. It's not so very much, after all. The question of this dwarvish company, however, troubles me deeply. I'm not convinced, Gandalf; I do not feel that I can condone such a quest. If they had come to me, I might have spared them this disappointment. I do not pretend to understand your reasons for raising their hopes….."

"_They are leaving." _Galadriel stated.

"_Yes."_

"_You knew."_

"…I am afraid there is nothing else for it." Saruman finished.

Gandalf nodded, and Galadriel smiled slightly. They all turned to look at the sound of approaching footsteps, and Lindir appeared at the steps. He came up, and bowed.

"My Lord Elrond; the dwarves, they've gone."

* * *

It was morning when the dwarves left, hiking up the path from Rivendell.

"Be on your guard; we're about to step over the edge of the Wild. Balin, you know these paths; lead on," Thorin said.

"Aye," Balin said, and shouldered his way to the front.

Bilbo turned and looked back at Rivendell longingly. Thorin glanced back at him, and scowled.

"Master Baggins, I suggest you keep up."

With that, the dwarves, Bilbo and Aether continued on their journey, Shadowmere following loyally at the back of the group.

Over the next few weeks, the Company had hiked over ranges, mountains, and many plains. When they reached the Misty Mountains, Aether spent most of the night unsaddling Shadowmere, for the steep, rugged mountains with their narrow paths were no place for a horse, even if it had been raised on the mountainous land of Skyrim. When dawn broke over the horizon, Shadowmere stood free of both the burden he had carried since leaving Rivendell, and the saddle that he had worn since Aether had been given him. She gave him a pat, and whispered in his ear.

"_Tirahk wundun, dii fahdon. Wundun wah oblaan do strunmah. Meyz siiv zey ruz."_

The stallion snorted, and stood watching as the Company packed up, and headed up into the Misty Mountains. After they disappeared from view, he gave a great whiny, and turned to gallop through the foothills of the mountains.

* * *

The path that they were following was narrow and highly dangerous. There was the steep wall of a cliff on one side, and a sheer drop down into darkness on the other. What made it worse was that a fierce storm was raging around them, with rain falling in curtains, and lightning flashing through the sky. Even Aether's attempts at Clear Skies failed, the storm too powerful for one simply Shout to clear it.

"Hold on!" Thorin called from farther up the line.

As Bilbo walked higher up in the line, the stone beneath his feet crumbled, and he started to slip into the chasm to their flank. Luckily, Dwalin pulled him back in time.

"We must find shelter!" Thorin yelled over the rain.

Dwalin yelled out. "Look out!"

The entire company looked up to see a huge boulder hurtling through the air, and ducked when it hit the mountain above them, sending rocks falling down around them as they press as close to the mountain as possible.

"This is no thunderstorm; it's a thunder battle!" Balin cried. "Look!"

A huge humanoid figure rears up from a nearby mountain, ripped a huge chunk of rock from the top of the mountain.

"Well bless me, the legends are true," Bofur said. "Giants; Storm Giants!"

Aether stared in shock at the giant from her position at the back of the line, for Thorin was still suspicious of her being a werewolf, not that she told him that. Gandalf had told her about the werewolves of Middle-earth, and with them being servants of Sauron; she simply told him she was a shape-shifter, which was true.

"Take cover: you'll fall!" Thorin yelled.

"What's happening?" Kíli shouted.

The first giant threw his boulder far into the air; another giant appearing from behind the Company, was hit in the head. The dwarves yelled at each other to brace themselves and hold on, as the rocks beneath their feet began to give way from all of the vibrations and impacts of the falling rocks. The between some of the dwarves began to split, with half of the Company on one side, and the rest on the other side.

Fíli yelled out to his brother, who was on the other side, "Kíli! Grab my hand! Kí…."

As the two giants fought, the dwarves held on tight as they were flung around. One of the groups managed to jump to safer ground. A third giant appeared to the fight, and threw a boulder at one of the first two. As the dwarves watched, that one fell over, and to them, looked like the others were crushed to bits. The hurt stone giant lost its footing and fell into the chasm.

"No!" Thorin cried. "No! Kíli!"

He rushed to where the group had been 'crushed', with the others following, and sagged in relief when he saw that they all survived.

"We're all right!" Balin yelled. "We're all alive."

"Where's Bilbo? Where's the Hobbit?" Bofur asked.

"There!" Ori cried, pointing to the edge of the cliff.

"Get him!" Dwalin demanded.

Ori lunged for the hobbit, and tried to grab his arm, but Bilbo slipped and fell another few feet before he caught another handhold. As the dwarves tried and failed to pull the hobbit back up, Thorin swung down the cliff and boosted the hobbit up. After Bilbo was safely up, Dwalin tried to lift Thorin up, but the dwarf lost his grip and began to fall. Luckily, Aether appeared over the ledge and grabbed Thorin's arm. Together, Aether and Dwalin pulled Thorin back up to solid footing.

"I thought we'd lost our burglar," Dwalin stated.

"He's been lost ever since he left home," Thorin growled. "He never should have come. He has no place among us. Dwalin!"

The dwarves wandered on for a bit more until they came upon a cave set into the stone cliff.

"It looks safe enough," Dwalin commented.

"Search the back; caves in mountains are seldom unoccupied." Thorin said.

Dwalin searched the cave with a lantern, but found nothing. "There's nothing here."

Glóin dropped a pile of wood on the floor, and rubbed his hands together. "Right then! Let's get a fire started."

"No." Thorin decided, "no fires, not in this place. Get some sleep. We will start at first light."

"We were to wait in the mountains until Gandalf joined us. That was the plan." Balin objected.

"Plans change," Thorin said. "Bofur, take first watch."

The Company was spread out through the cave, sleeping. Aether was a wolf, and somehow she had became Fíli and Kíli's personal heater. Bilbo, who had only been pretending to sleep, opened his eyes and looked around. Seeing that mostly everyone was asleep, he quietly rolled up his blankets and packed his things. He grabbed his walking stick, and began to tiptoe between the sleeping dwarves. He narrowed avoided stepping on Aether's tail, when Bofur startled him.

"Where do you think you're going?" the dwarf whispered.

"Back to Rivendell," Bilbo whispered back.

"No, no, you can't turn back now, you're part of the Company. You're one of us."

"I'm not though, am I? Thorin said I never should have come, and he's right. I'm not a Took, I'm a Baggins, I don't know what I was thinking. I should have never ran out my door. Besides, you have Aether now." Bilbo argued, gesturing with a hand to where the shifter lay sleeping.

Thorin, who was awake, stared at the opposing wall thoughtfully as he listened.

"You're homesick; I understand." Bofur said.

" No, you don't, you don't understand!" Bilbo disagreed. "None of you do- you're dwarves. You're used to—to this life, living on the road, never settling in one place, not belonging anywhere. Even Aether wouldn't understand, she's a wanderer."

Bofur looked offended, and Bilbo became repentant.

"I am sorry, I didn't…."

"No, you're right. We don't belong anywhere. I wish you all the luck in the world. I really do."

Bofur smiled and placed his hand on Bilbo's shoulder. As the hobbit turned and headed to the entrance, Bofur stopped him.

"What's that?"

Bilbo looked down to where something was glowing at his waist, and pulled his sword partly out of its sheath. The blade was glowing a bright blue, and Thorin raised his head as the sound of whirring machinery sounds filled the air. Aether shot up, waking Fíli and Kíli, and Thorin watched as cracks formed in the sand at the floor of the cave.

"Wake up!" Thorin cried, grabbing Orcrist. "Wake up!"

Before anyone could react, the floor of the cave collapsed downward. The entire Company fell down a chute, slide through a tunnel, and landed in a giant wooden cage. As they struggled to get up, a horde of goblins attacked them. Aether pulled herself free first, and tore down several of the ugly buggers before she was overwhelmed and forced to the ground. As the other's weapons were taken away, a couple goblins tied her snout shut with ropes, and looped more over her furry form. The dwarves and wolf-shifter were dragged away, kicking and yelling and yelping.

Bilbo somehow managed to get unnoticed. Nori glanced over his shoulder as he was pulled away, and noticed Bilbo. The hobbit, glowing blue sword held in front of him, followed behind the goblins. Suddenly, a goblin jumped down in front of Bilbo, and rushed him with his sword. After a brief fight that Bilbo barely survived, both the goblin and Bilbo fell over the edge of a platform and into the darkness below.

The dwarves and Aether were dragged by the goblin hoard through a vast network of tunnels and wooden bridges to the throne room and platform of the Great Goblin. Aether decided that the huge goblin was the ugliest thing she had ever seen in her life, and she had seen some pretty horrible things since the burning of Helgen. The dwarves' weapons, along with Ahkrin and her bow, were piled together as the huge clump of fat that was the Great Goblin jumped off his throne and approached the Company.

"Who would be so bold as to come armed into my kingdom? Spies? Thieves? Assassins?"

"Dwarves, Your Malevolence. Dwarves and a shifter."

"Dwarves? Shifter?"

"We found them on the front porch."

"Well don't just stand there; search them! Every crack, every crevice."

The goblins thoroughly searched the dwarves, throwing away whatever they found.

"What are you doing in these parts?" The Great Goblin demanded. "Speak!"

None of the dwarves spoke.

"Well then, if they will not talk, we'll make them squawk! Bring out the Mangler! Bring out the Bone Breaker! Start with the youngest." He pointed at Ori.

Thorin stepped forward. "Wait."

"Well, well, well," said the Great Goblin, "look who it is. Thorin, son of Thrain, son of Thror; King under the Mountain." He bowed exaggeratedly to Thorin.

"Oh, but I'm forgetting, you don't have a mountain. And you're not a king. Which makes you nobody, really. I know someone who would pay a pretty price for your head. Just the head, nothing attached. Perhaps you know of whom I speak, an old enemy of yours. A Pale Orc astride a White Warg."

Thorin looked up in surprise and disbelief. "Azog the Defiler was destroyed. He was slain in battle long ago."

"So you think his defiling day are done, do you?" the Great Goblin laughed.

He turned to a tiny goblin sitting in a basket, holding a slate.

"Send word to the Pale Orc; tell him I have his prize."

**Author's Note Part II: **Next chapter, we will have reached the end of An Unexpected Journey! Big cheers! Hope everyone liked this chapter that I slaved away at(not really, but anyway) Reviews, as always, would be delightful. I will do my best to get out another chapter before I go visit my friend next week. Hopefully I caught all the mistakes, but nobody's perfect.**  
**

Translations for _**Dragon,**_ and _Sindarin._

_"Lastannem i athrannedh i Vruinen.": _'We heard you had crossed into the Valley.'_  
_

_"Mellonnen! Mo evínedh?": _'My friend! Where have you been?'

_"Farannem 'lamhoth i udul o charad. Dagannem rim na Iant Vedui.": _'We've been hunting a pack of Orcs that came up from the South. We slew a number near the Last Bridge.'

_"Nartho i noer, toltho i viruvor. Boe i annam vann a nethail vin.": '_Light the fires, bring forth the wine. We must feed our guests.'

_"Nae nin gwistant infanneth, mal ú-eichia i Chíril Lorien.": _'Age may have changed me, but not so the Lady of Lorien.'

**_"Tirahk wundun, dii fahdon. Wundun wah oblaan do strunmah. Meyz siiv zey ruz.":_ **'Safe travels, my friend. Travel to the end of the mountains. Come find me then. '

_**DragonofAsgard**_


	7. Chapter VII

**Author's Note Part I: **The end of the first movie! Yah! I would like to thank everyone that has favorited and followed my story this past week. I can't think up anything else to say, so here is the next chapter!**  
**

_Disclaimer: _I do not own anything from the Elder Scrolls or the Hobbit. _  
_

**While Aether and the dwarves were being interrogated** **by the Great Goblin**, Bilbo had other problems. The first, he decided, was finding a way out. The second was finding the rest of the Company. When he opened his eyes, he wondered if he had; for it was just as dark as with them shut. No one was anywhere near him. He could hear nothing, see nothing, and he could feel nothing except the stone of the floor.

Very slowly he felt along the floor of where he had fallen, till he reached a wall. His head was swimming, and he was far from certain even of the direction they had been going in when he had his fall. He guessed as well as he could, and crawled along for a good way, till suddenly his hand met what felt like a tiny ring of cold metal lying on the floor of the tunnel. He put the ring in his pocket almost without thinking; certainly it did not seem of any particular use at the moment. He did not go much further, but sat down on the cold floor and gave himself up to complete miserableness, for a long while.

Unknown to him, the goblin that had fallen with him was lying not too far from his spot. Bilbo peered into the inky darkness as he heard, faintly, someone talking.

"Yes. Yes. Yes!" the voice shouted in glee. "Yes! _Gollum. Gollum_."

The sound of something being dragged echoed in Bilbo's ears. He felt the hilt of his sword, the dagger that Gandalf had given him dig into his side. He drew it out. It shone pale and dim before his eyes. _"Goblins are not very near, and yet not far enough."_ he thought.

But somehow he was comforted. It was rather splendid to be wearing a blade made in Gondolin for the goblin-wars of which so many songs had sung.

_"Go back?"_ he thought. _"No good at all! Go sideways? Impossible! Go forward? Only thing to do!_ On we go!" So up he got, and trotted along with his little sword held in front of him and one hand feeling the wall, and his heart all of a patter and a pitter.

He hadn't been walking along when he heard the voice muttering again. "Nasty goblinses," the voice hissed. "Better than old bones, Precious; better than nothing."

Bilbo paused, listening as the voice talking on.

"Too many boneses, Precious! Nothing of flesh!"

"Shut up!" the voice growled, obviously talking to itself. "Get its skin off. Start with its head."

The voice started singing. _"The cold hard lands, they bites our hands, they gnaws our feet. The rocks and stones, they're like old bones, all bare of meat. Cold as death, they have no breath, it's good to eat!"_

Bilbo stepped forward, and suddenly without any warning he trotted splash into water and it was icy cold. That pulled him up sharp and short. He did not know whether it was just a pool in the path, or the edge of an underground stream that crossed the passage, or the brink of a deep dark subterranean lake. The sword was hardly shining at all. He stopped, and he could hear, when he listened hard, drops drip-drip-dripping from an unseen roof into the water below; but there seemed no other sort of sound.

"So it is a pool or a lake, and not an underground river," he thought. Still he did not dare to wade out into the darkness. He could not swim; and he thought, too, of nasty slimy things, with big bulging blind eyes, wriggling in the water. There are strange things living in the pools and lakes in the hearts of mountains: fish whose fathers swam in, goodness only knows how many years ago, and never swam out again, while their eyes grew bigger and bigger and bigger from trying to see in the blackness; also there are other things more slimy than fish. Even in the tunnels and caves the goblins have made for themselves there are other things living unbeknown to them that have sneaked in from outside to lie up in the dark. Some of these caves, too, go back in their beginnings to ages before the goblins, who only widened them and joined them up with passages, and the original owners are still there in odd corners, slinking and nosing about.

At the sound of Bilbo's feet on water, the voice stopped. Bilbo was sitting on the brink altogether flummoxed and at the end of his way and his wits. Suddenly up came the owner of the voice and whispered and hissed: "Bless us and splash us, my precioussss! I guess it's a choice feast; at least a tasty morsel it'd make us, _gollum!"_

And when he said gollum he made a horrible swallowing noise in his throat. The hobbit jumped nearly out of his skin when the hiss came in his ears, and he suddenly saw the pale eyes sticking out at him. He jumped back, and pointed his little blade at the creature.

"Aaahh. _Gollum. Gollum_. Ack" Gollum backed up in fright.

"Back. Stay back. I'm warning you, don't come any nearer." Bilbo said in a shaky voice.

"It's got an elvish blade, but it's not an Elfs. Not an Elfs, no. What is it, Precious? What is it?"

"My name is Bilbo Baggins."

"Bagginses? What is a Bagginses, Precious?"

"I am a Hobbit from the Shire," Bilbo declared.

"Oh!" Gollum cried. "We like Goblinses, batses, and fishes, but we hasn't tried Hobbitses before. Is it soft? Is it juicy?"

Gollum approached again, and Bilbo pointed his sword at him again and swung wildly waved it about.

"Now, now, k—keep your distance! I'll use this if I have to!"

Gollum snarled at the hobbit, and Bilbo took a step back in shock.

"I don't want any trouble, do you understand? Just show me the way to get out of here, and I'll be on my way," Bilbo said.

"Why, is it lost?"

'Yes, yes, and I want to get unlost as soon as possible."

"Ooh! We knows! We knows safe paths for Hobbitses. Safe paths in the dark."

A change swept over Gollum, and he ducked behind a rock, and growled, "Shut up."

Bilbo looked confused. "I didn't say anything."

"Wasn't talking to you," Gollum said.

"But yes, we was, Precious, we was," Gollum argued with himself.

"Look, uh, I don't know what your game is, but I—"

"Games?" Gollum interrupted. "We loves games, doesn't we, Precious? Does it like games? Does it? Does it? Does it like to play?"

"Maybe?"

Gollum held up his hands, and began to recite a riddle.

_"What has roots as nobody sees,_

_Is taller than trees,_

_Up, up it goes,_

_And yet never grows?"_

"Easy!" said Bilbo. "Mountain, I suppose."

Gollum began to laugh uproariously. "Yess, yess, oh, let's have another one, eh? Yes, come on, do it again, do it—do it again. Ask us."

He paused, and then growled, "No! No more riddles. Finish him off. Finish him off now. _Gollum! Gollum!" _

He snarled and rushed at Bilbo. Bilbo raised a hand to stop him. "No! No, no, no. I wa—I want to play. I do. I want to play." Bilbo yelped. "I can see that you are very good at this. S—so why don't we have a game of riddles? Yes, just, just you and me."

He crouched down till he was level with Gollum, who scuttled forward, whispering excitedly.

"Yes! Yes, just, just—just us."

Bilbo nodded, "Yes. Yes. And—and if I win, you will show me the way out."

Gollum nodded. "Yes. Yes—" he interrupted himself. "And if it loses? What then?" he paused, "Well, if it loses, Precious, we will eats it!"

He laughed to himself, and turned back to Bilbo. "If Baggins loses, we eats it whole."

There was a pause as Bilbo digested the information. "Fair enough,' he finally said.

Bilbo stood up and sheathed his sword. Gollum looked on in interest.

"Well, Baggins first."

Bilbo paused to think of a riddle, as Gollum rested his hands and chin on the edge of a rock.

_"Thirty white horses on a red hill,_

_First they champ,_

_Then they stamp,_

_Then they stand still."_

That was all he could think of to ask-the idea of eating was rather on his mind. It was rather an old one, too, and Gollum knew the answer as well as you do.

"Chestnuts, chestnuts," he hissed. "Teeth! teeth! my precioussss; but we has only six!" Then he asked his second:

_"Voiceless it cries,_

_Wingless flutters,_

_Toothless bites,_

_Mouthless mutters."_

"Just a minute," Bilbo cried, for he was still thinking uncomfortably about eating. Fortunately he had once heard something rather like this before, and getting his wits back he thought of the answer. "Wind, wind of course," he said, and he was so pleased that he made up one on the spot. _"This'll puzzle the nasty little underground creature," _he thought:

_"An eye in a blue face_

_Saw an eye in a green face._

_"That eye is like to this eye"_

_Said the first eye,_

_"But in low place,_

_Not in high place.""_

Gollum paused, for he had been underground for a long time and was forgetting those types of things. But, just when Bilbo was hoping he would be able to answer, he remember memories from long ago. "Sss, sss, my preciouss," he said. "Sun on the daisies it means, it does."

But the ordinary aboveground everyday riddles were becoming tiring to him, and reminded him of better days were he wasn't so lonely and sneaky and nasty, and that put him out of temper. It also made him hungry; so this time he tried something a bit more difficult and more unpleasant:

_"It cannot be seen, cannot be felt,_

_Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt._

_It lies behind stars and under hills,_

_And empty holes it fills._

_It comes first and follows after,_

_Ends life, kills laughter."_

Unfortunately for Gollum Bilbo had heard that sort of thing before; and the answer was all round him anyway. "Dark!" he said without even scratching his head or putting on his thinking cap.

_"A box without hinges, key, or lid,_

_Yet golden treasure inside is hid,"_

Gollum thought hard, talking to himself and making many hand motions. "A box…and a lid…and then a key…" he mused to himself out loud.

After some while Bilbo became impatient. "Well, what is it?" he said.

"Give us a chance; let it give us a chance, my preciouss-ss-ss."

"Well," said Bilbo, after giving him a long chance, "what about your guess?"

But suddenly Gollum remembered thieving from nests long ago. "Eggses!" he hissed. "Eggses it is!" Then he asked:

_"This thing all things devours:_

_Birds, beasts, trees, flowers;_

_Gnaws iron, bites steel;_

_Grinds hard stones to meal;_

_Slays king, ruins town,_

_And beats high mountain down."_

Poor Bilbo sat in the dark thinking of all the horrible names of all the giants and ogres he had ever heard told of in tales, but not one of them had done all these things. He had a feeling that the answer was quite different and that he ought to know it, but he could not think of it. He began to get frightened, and that is bad for thinking. His tongue seemed to stick in his mouth; he wanted to shout out: _"Give me more time! Give me time!"_ But all that came out with a sudden squeal was:

"Time! Time!"

Gollum snarled in frustration. "Last question," he growled. "Last chance."

"Ah, uh…"

"Ask us," Gollum said sweetly. ASK US!" he roared.

"Yes, yes, alright," Bilbo said hurriedly. He walked over to the edge of the lake to think. He pinched himself and slapped himself; he gripped on his little sword; he even felt in his pocket with his other hand. There he found the ring he had picked up in the passage and forgotten about. "What have I got in my pocket?" he said aloud. He was talking to himself, but Gollum thought it was a riddle, and he was frightfully upset.

"Not fair! not fair!" he hissed. "It isn't fair, my precious, is it, to ask us what it's got in its nassty little pocketses?"

Bilbo, seeing what had happened and having nothing better to ask stuck to his question. "What have I got in my pocket?" he said louder.

"S-s-s-s-s," hissed Gollum. "It must give us three guesseses, my preciouss, three guesseses."

"Very well! Guess away!" said Bilbo.

"Handses!" said Gollum.

"Wrong," said Bilbo, who had luckily just taken his hand out again. "Guess again!"

"S-s-s-s-s," said Gollum more upset than ever. He thought of all the things he kept in his own pockets: and tried to think what other people kept in their pockets. "Knife!" he said at last.

"Wrong!" said Bilbo, who had lost his some time ago. "Last guess!" Now Gollum was in a much worse state than when Bilbo had asked him the egg-question. He hissed and spluttered and rocked himself backwards and forwards, and slapped his feet on the floor, and wriggled and squirmed; but still he did not dare to waste his last guess.

"Come on!" said Bilbo. "I am waiting!" He tried to sound bold and cheerful, but he did not feel at all sure how the game was going to end, whether Gollum guessed right or not.

"Time's up!" he said.

"String, or nothing!" shrieked Gollum, which was not quite fair-working in two guesses at once.

"Both wrong," cried Bilbo very much relieved; and he jumped at once to his feet, put his back to the nearest wall, and held out his little sword. "So, come then, I won the game, you promised to show me the way out."

"Did we say so, Precious? Did we say so?" Gollum asked himself. "Show the nassty little Baggins the way out, yes, yes. But what has it got in its pocketses, eh? Not string, precious, but not nothing. Oh no! Gollum!" He turned and glared hatefully at Bilbo.

"That's no concern of yours," Bilbo said, pointing his blade at Gollum. "You lost."

"Lost? Lost? Lost?" Gollum repeated. He grinned as he slowly approached Bilbo. He reached for something at his side; and when he realized that whatever he was looking for wasn't there, his expression registered his shock. Gollum began patting himself down looking for the item.

"Where is it? Where is it? No! Ahh!" he cried in terror. "Where is it? No! No!"

Gollum scuttled around the cave, scattering bones and rocks as he searched in vain for his missing object. He even splashed through the lake shallows, looking for it. "Lost! Curses and splashes, my precious is lost!"

Bilbo slowly pulled the ring that he had found out of his pocket and held it behind his back in a fist. "What have you lost?" he questioned.

"Mustn't ask us!" Gollum cried. "Not its business! No! _Gollum, Gollum_." He leaned over the edge of the lake, sobbing quietly. As he stared into the water, his sobs died down, and unseen to Bilbo, his face twisted in anger.

"What has it got in its nasty little pocketses?" he growled, turning to look up at the hobbit in shock and anger. Bilbo, in fear, clutched the ring tighter and pointed his blade at Gollum.

"He stole it," Gollum whispered. "He stole it! Ahh! HE STOLE IT!" his voice broke into a yell. With a snarl, he flung a rock at Bilbo and the hobbit, with a rare show of agility, deflected the rock on his blade and ran away; Gollum chasing after.

* * *

Back up in the throne room of the Great Goblin, dozens of goblins were carrying massive instruments of torture on their shoulders, bringing them to the Great Goblin. Meanwhile, the huge goblin was dancing about and singing lustily._ "Bones will be shattered, necks will be wrung!" _he sang_. "You'll be beaten and battered, from racks you'll be hung. You will lie down here and never be found, down in the deep of Goblin-town!"_

Grinnah, one of the goblins, was examining the weapons that had come down with the dwarves. He poked at Ahkrin's blade, but the sword stubbornly remained pale ivory, the fire runes simply markings in bone. He dropped the dragonbone sword back into the pile, and pulled out Thorin's sword, Orcrist, and pulled it slightly from its sheath. Recognizing the sword, he gasped in horror and threw down the blade. It landed in view of all the goblins. The Great Goblin gave a truly awful howl of rage when he looked at it.

"I know that sword!" the Great Goblin cried loudly from where he now stood on his throne. He pointed down to where Orcrist lay. "It is the Goblin-Cleaver, the Biter, the blade that sliced a thousand necks!"

"Slash them! Beat them!" the Great Goblin cried. "Bite them! Gnash them! Kill them! Kill them all! Cut off his head!" he pointed at Thorin for the last one.

Goblins held Thorin down, and as one of them pulled out his knife to prepare to behead Thorin, when suddenly there was a massive explosion of light. All the lights in the cavern went out, and the great fire went off poof! into a tower of blue glowing smoke, right up to the roof, that scattered piercing white sparks all among the goblins. The sound wave ripped through the air, destroying the torture machines and sending goblins flying into the air. Everyone was knocked down, including the Great Goblin. A tall shadow with a pointy hat walked up, revealing itself to be Gandalf, his staff in one hand and Glamdring in the other. As light slowly returned to the area, the dwarves and goblins stood back up, and stared at the wizard. Aether, unable to stand, merely twisted her head to eye the wizard grumpily.

"Take up arms!" Gandalf cried. "Fight! Fight!"

The dwarves scrambled for their weapons, and one dwarf managed to cut Aether free. The dragon-slayer lunged to her paws, and shifted into human form, snatching Ahkrin out of the air as one of the dwarves threw it to her. The sword blazed with light, and together Aether, the dwarves and Gandalf began to fight the goblins.

The Great Goblin, still on the ground, noticed Gandalf's sword and points at it. "He wields the Foe-Hammer, the Beater, bright as daylight!"

Some of the dwarves reached their pile of weapons, and started throwing weapons to each other, where they then used them to kill the charging goblins. Nori, while fighting off a goblin, fell on the floor, and the Great Goblin ran up at the fallen dwarf and swung his mace.

"Nori!"

Thorin bolted forward and deflected the goblin's blow, causing the Great Goblin to stumble backward, where he then fell off the edge of the platform into the darkness below.

"Follow me!' Gandalf yelled over the fighting. "Quick! Run!"

The dwarves, wizard and dragon-slayer cut down the goblins around them, and ran up a pathway leading away from the throne room.

* * *

Bilbo hurried through a cave, fleeing from Gollum, whose voice echoed up to Bilbo. "Give it to us!" Gollum cried.

Gollum ran past Bilbo, who had slipped into a side cave. He gasped and turned to try and fit through a crack in the wall, but got stuck halfway through. Bilbo looked up in fear, as Gollum, attracted to the sound, backtracked and saw Bilbo stuck. Gollum approached the stuck hobbit, snarling.

"It's ours," Gollum growled. "It's ours!"

Gollum lunged. Bilbo's heart jumped into his mouth. He took a great breath and gave a terrific squirm. Buttons burst off in all directions. He was through, with a torn coat and waistcoat. The hobbit stumbled and tripped to the floor. As he hit the ground, the ring that he still held in his hand went flying into the air. Bilbo reached up with a hand to grab it, but instead of landing in his hand, it slipped onto his finger, and the hobbit became invisible.

Gollum jumped through the crack, growling and glancing around for any sight of the Hobbit. "Thief!" Gollum cried. "Baggins!"

Bilbo sat, invisible, and watched in shock as Gollum continued down the cave. After Gollum had disappeared from view, Bilbo slowly stood up, still in shock at his near miss.

* * *

Gandalf ran through the suspended pathways of Goblin-town, Aether and the dwarves following. Hundreds of goblins ran after them.

"Quickly!" Gandalf yelled from the front of the group.

Several goblins ran to them from ahead. Dwalin and several other dwarves cut down a guardrail post, and held it out in front of them like a massive spear. "Charge!" Dwalin yelled.

He and the other dwarves charged forward, sweeping the oncoming goblins off the sides of the path with the long rail. Dwalin dropped the rail, and pulled out his axes. He began knocking even more goblins aside, as the rest of the Company did the same. Several goblins run blindly off the pathway on fire, and Glóin hit a goblin who fell off onto a path below them. The wood shattered under the impact, and sent dozens of goblins falling down into shadows.

The Company ran through the tunnels, killing any and all goblins that got in their way. Eventually, they came to a bridge between two walls of the cavern. As they began to cross it, the Great Goblin suddenly broke up from underneath the bridge and pulled himself up onto the platform, in front of Gandalf. As the Company paused, hundreds of goblins surrounded them on all sides.

"You thought you could escape me?" the goblin asked, and swung his mace at Gandalf, making the wizard stumble back and almost fall. "What are you going to do now, wizard?"

Gandalf leaped forward and hit the Great Goblin in the eye with his staff. The goblin dropped his mace and grabbed at his face in pain. "Ow, ow, ow!" he yelped.

The wizard stepped forward and sliced Glamdring across the Great Goblin's belly, and he fell to his knew, clutching his stomach.

"That'll do it." The Great Goblin muttered.

Gandalf swung his sword again, and sliced at his neck, causing him to fall down dead.

The goblin's weight caused the bridge to start shaking, and suddenly the section of the bridge where the Company stood broke away from the rest of the bridge, and started sliding down the wall of the cavern. It picked up to a terrific speed as it went down the wall. The dwarves clung on, screaming in terror, while Aether laughed in surprised delight. The bridge demolished everything in its path. They slowed as they reached the bottom of the cavern, and the bridge broke apart, burying the dwarves in timber and wood. Gandalf got up out the wreckage and inspected were the rest of the dwarves and Aether were still stuck.

"Well," Bofur said with a grunt. "That could have been worse."

Just then, the corpse of the Great Goblin landed on the wreckage, and squished Aether and the dwarves even more.

"You've got to be joking!" Dwalin grumbled.

As the dwarves and Aether pulled themselves from the wreckage, Kíli looked up, and his eyes widened as he saw the thousands of goblins that were running at them.

"Gandalf!" he cried, pointing.

"There's too many," Dwalin said. "We can't fight them."

Gandalf nodded. "Only one thing will save us: daylight! Come on! Here, on your feet."

The dwarves scrambled up, helping each other out of the rubble, and they ran off, following Gandalf and Aether.

* * *

Gollum jumped into a tunnel, where daylight could be seen at the end. "Wait, my Precious!" he cried. "Wait! _Gollum, gollum." _

Bilbo slowly crept up behind him, still wearing the magic ring, with his sword drawn. Up ahead, there was a commotion, and Gollum hid behind a rock. Bilbo glanced up as Gandalf, Aether and the dwarves ran past, escaping through the exit. He watched as his companions ran down the side of the tree-covered mountain, and disappeared from sight. Gollum looked up after they had left, and continued looking for Bilbo. The hobbit slowly crept forward more quietly than a mouse; but Gollum stiffened at once, and sniffed. He hissed softly but menacingly.

Bilbo almost stopped breathing, and went stiff himself. He was desperate. Then quite suddenly in another flash, as if lifted by a new strength and resolve, he leaped.

He stepped on Gollum's head as he went over and knocked him over. Bilbo ran to the exit, still invisible as Gollum jumped up and scrambled around him, trying to grab Bilbo, yelling all the while. "Baggins! Thief! Curse it and crush it, we hates it forever!"

* * *

Bilbo ran after the Company, still wearing his ring. Far ahead of him, the group halted and Gandalf started to count the members as the dwarves gasped for breath.

"Five, six, seven, eight…Bifur, Bofur…that's ten…Fíli, Kíli…that's twelve…Bombur, Aether- that makes fourteen." He muttered. "Where's Bilbo? Where is our Hobbit? Where is our hobbit?!"

Dwalin growled. "Curse the Halfling! Now he's lost?"

"I thought he was with Dori!" Glóin piped up.

"Don't blame me!" Dori exclaimed.

'Well, where did you last see him?" Gandalf asked the arguing dwarves.

"I think I saw him slip away, when they first cornered us." Nori said.

Gandalf nodded, "What happened exactly? Tell me!"

By then Bilbo had caught up with the group, and hide behind a tree as Thorin spoke up.

"I'll tell you what happened. Master Baggins saw his chance and he took it! He's thought of nothing but his soft bed and his warm hearth since he first stepped out his door! We will not be seeing our Hobbit again. He is long gone." Thorin declared.

Bilbo leaned against his tree, pondering what Thorin said. The dwarves looked at each other, and Aether sat down with a soft sigh.

Bilbo made up his mind. "No, he isn't," he said, stepping out from behind his tree, now visible. The dwarves looked up in shock and relief, and Gandalf laughed.

"Bilbo Baggins! I've never been so glad to see anyone in my life!"

Kíli and Fíli asked how he got away from the goblins, and Dwalin grumbled. There was an awkward silence as Bilbo tried of something to say. He finally gave a nervous laugh, and put his hands on his hips, slipping the ring into his waistcoat pocket.

Gandalf sighed. "Well, what does it matter!" he said. "He's back!"

Thorin eyed Bilbo. "It matters!" he said. "I want to know: why _did_ you come back?"

"Look," Bilbo said, "I know you doubt me, I know you always have. And you're right, I often think of Bag End. I miss my books. And my armchair. And my garden. See, that's where I belong. That's home. And that's why I came back, cause you don't have one. A home. It was taken from you. But I will help you take it back if I can."

After Bilbo's little speech, there was silence as the dwarves mused over Bilbo's words. Gandalf smiled happily, and Aether jerked her head up, and snarled. "_Mu los ni naalein!"_ she yelled, just as the howling of Wargs echoed down the mountain.

"Out of the frying pan…" Thorin started.

"…and into the fire! Run! RUN!" Gandalf finished.

They all started running down the mountain as fast as possible. The Wargs caught up with them rapidly, and this time, there was no Shadowmere to distract them.

The foremost Warg caught up and leaps at Bilbo. Bilbo ducked behind a rock, and narrowly avoided the Warg's snapping jaws. The creature spun around and charged at him again. Bilbo held out his sword in front of him, and the Warg impaled in the head with the sword, and fell over dead. Bilbo looked at the body in surprise.

More Wargs had caught up with the fleeing dwarves, but they were quickly dispatched. The Company reached an outcropping of land with a few trees growing, and found themselves trapped.

"Up the trees, all of you!" Gandalf yelled. "Come on, climb! Bilbo, climb!"

The dwarves began to climb up the trees; Aether was already up one and shooting down Wargs.

"They're coming!" Thorin shouted, as the rest of the dwarves scrambled up trees. Bilbo was still by the body of the Warg he killed, trying to pull his sword free; as the main part of the Wargs and Warg Riders approached.

Bilbo looked up to see Wargs running towards him, and finally managed to pull his sword free. He quickly clambered up a tree, just in time to avoid the Wargs below. Dozens of Wargs surrounded the trees in which the Company took shelter, and the beasts stopped growling as a huge White Warg walked up, on its back, the Pale Orc.

Thorin looked at the Orc in shock, "Azog?"

The White Warg growled. Azog stroked it, and spoke to in a dark language to Thorin.** "_Nuzdigid? Nuzdi gast? Ganzilig-i unarug obod nauzdanish, Torin undag Train-ob."_**

Thorin looked stricken in pain and grief, for what reason, Aether had no idea. "It cannot be," Thorin said.

Azog turned to speak to his Wargs, and their riders. **_"_**_**Kod, Toragid biriz,**"_he growled.** _"Worori-da!"_**

At the Pale Orc's shout, the Warg leapt forward, and began to try to climb the trees. They jumped up as high as they could, claws tearing at the trunks, and breaking branched with their snapping jaws in their efforts to reach the dwarves. Many fell to their deaths, cream fletched arrows buried in vital parts of their bodies.

The tree farthest from the edge of the cliff began to fall from the weight of the Wargs climbing it. As more Wargs jumped onto the leaning trunk, the tree began to tip over, and fell into the tree behind it. Bilbo and the other dwarves jumped to that tree, but the new tree started to fall as well. It started a domino effect, until the only tree standing was the one at the very edge of the cliff. All of the dwarves, Bilbo, Aether and Gandalf huddled among its branches. In desperation, Gandalf grabbed a pinecone, and using his staff, set the pinecone alight with blue fire. He then threw it down into the huddle of Wargs. The Wargs scattered in fear, and Azog looked both started and angry at the appearance of the fiery pinecone.

The wizard set two more pinecones on fire, and threw one down to Fíli. The dwarf caught the cone, and soon flaming pinecones were raining down on the Wargs. Aether even helped, whispering _Yol _over a handful of cones, and handing them down to the dwarves to be flung to the Wargs. Before long everywhere around the Company's tree was on fire, and the Wargs had retreated, and several with their fur alight.

Azog roared in anger, and the dwarves cheered, but the cheers quickly turned to yelps of panic as their tree began to tilt over the edge of the cliff. As the dwarves were flung around, Ori lost his grip on the tree, and began to fall, but caught hold of Dori's leg.

Dori began to lose his grip on the tree as well from Ori's extra weight. "Mister Gandalf!" he yelped.

Just as Dori's grip slipped, Gandalf swung his staff down, and the dwarf grabbed hold of the edge of the staff.

Thorin charged Azog, and the minute that followed saw Thorin being flung around like a doll. He finally landed on a flat rock, half unconscious, with Orcrist slipping from his fingers.

One of the Orcs jumped from his Warg and approached Thorin. Bilbo pulled out his own sword, which was glowing blue in the presence of Orcs, and threw himself at the Orc just as it prepared to behead Thorin. As the two fought, Bilbo managed to stab and kill the Orc. Azog growled in anger and Bilbo pulled his sword from the Orc's body, and stood in front of the unconscious Thorin.

Azog smiled in hatred as Bilbo waved his sword wildly at the Orcs. He spoke to the Orcs in Black Speech, and a couple of Wargs and Orcs approached the Hobbit, snarling. Bilbo was saved when Kíli, Fíli and Dwalin plowed into the Wargs from the side, and began to fight the beasts.

Bilbo jumped away in the confusion, but the White Warg hit Bilbo with its head, and sent the Hobbit flying. Fíli, Kíli and Dwalin were surrounded by Wargs, and Bilbo was left to Azog's mercy.

A moth fluttered up to Gandalf, and Dori's grip on the wizard's staff slipped. Ori and Dori fall to the ground far below. A huge eagle slightly smaller than Odahviing swept from nowhere and caught the two dwarves on its back, they yelled in fear of the eagle carried them away on swift wings. Other eagles appeared, and joined the fray. Some grabbed Wargs and sent them off the cliff sides, while others brought down trees to crush the Wargs below them. An eagle gently grabbed Thorin and Orcrist in its talons and flew off. One snatched up Bilbo, and threw the Hobbit onto the back of another. The rest of the eagles snatched up the rest of the dwarves and flew off, until only Gandalf and Aether were left. The two jumped from the burning tree just as its roots gave way, and were caught up by two Eagles. Azog and the few Warg-Riders that survived the Eagle's attack roared in anger after them.

* * *

The Eagles flew a great distance, and passed over many landscapes. Thorin still hung limply in his Eagle's talons, and the other dwarves were worried.

The Eagles flew up to a massive rock structure shaped like a bear, and the Eagle carrying Thorin carefully laid the dwarf and his sword upon the flat stone. The Eagle carrying Gandalf landed, and the wizard slid off its neck, and ran to Thorin.

"Thorin! Thorin!"

Bilbo ran up as Gandalf placed his hand on the dwarf's forehead and whispered a spell. Thorin's eyes opened, and he gasped for breath.

"The Halfling?" he asked in a weak voice.

"It's all right," Gandalf assured him. "Bilbo is here. He's quite safe."

The other Eagles had dropped off their dwarves, and Aether smoothly slid off her Eagle's back. They all surrounded Thorin, and Dwalin and Kíli helped Thorin up. As soon as the dwarf was on his feet, he shrugged them off and approached Bilbo.

"You!" he says. "What were you doing? You nearly got yourself killed! Did I not say that you would be a burden? That you would not survive in the wild and that you had no place amongst us?"

Thorin advanced until he was face to face with Bilbo, who had started to look worried and frightened.

"I've never been so wrong in my life!" Thorin said, and he grabbed Bilbo and embraced him.

The other dwarves cheered loudly and slapped each other on the back, Gandalf smiled, and Aether gave a snort. She turned to watch as the Eagles flew off screeching.

From behind her, Gandalf said, "Erebor—The Lonely Mountain. The last of the great dwarf kingdoms of Middle-earth."

"Our home," Thorin said.

A bird flew by, and Oin exclaimed, "A raven! The birds are returning to the Mountain."

Aether snorted. "That was no raven, Master Dwarf," she said, "that was a thrush."

"But we'll take it as a good sign," Thorin said. "A good omen."

"You're right." Bilbo agreed. "I do believe that the worst is behind us."

The Company looked out at the Lonely Mountain in the distance as the sun rose behind them.

* * *

The thrush flew over the Desolation of Smaug, flying in front of the ruined gates of Erebor, and landed on a rock on the side of the mountain. It picked up a snail, and banged the shell against the side of the mountain.

Inside of the mountain, a massive pile of gold and jewels lay piled up in the throne room, and the sounds of the thrush echoed through the massive chambers. Some of the gold went flying, revealing the massive scaled snout of a dragon. As the dragon, Smaug slowly raised his head from under the pile, more gold slid down the sides of his face, and one huge eye opened. Smaug growled.

**Author's Note Part II: **I had been hoping to put Odahviing in this one, but he just wasn't ready. So we will have to wait just a bit longer for him. But he will come. Reviews would be loved! **  
**

Translations of Dragon:

"_Mu los ni naalein!": _'We are not alone'_  
_

_Yol:_ Fire

**_DragonofAsgard_**


	8. Author's Note

Dear readers,

I know you were all hoping this was a new chapter. Unfortunately, my laptop has decided to break down, and all my work was on it. Until I get a new one, and get my work off the old one, this will be on a temporary hiatus. But don't worry, I have already finished the next chapter, and several after that. As soon as I can, the story will continue! I apologize for the inconvenience. I will do my best to get the next one out as soon as possible!

With great apologizes;

**DragonofAsgard**

I would also like to take this time to thank all the people that have reviewed, favorited or followed. Thanks! Hopefully chapter 8 will be out before the middle of October. School can slow down so many plans.


End file.
